Alpha Male (4 page)

"You really should let me do that," he said, as she stepped down.

“I don’t need you to do anything for me,” she said, shooting him a look. “Come on, we need to get back.”  

With Jon lighting the way, they walked through the long, empty passages of the damp sewer system. Conduits the size of their arms ran down along the ceiling, while the sound of flowing water could be heard somewhere nearby. They followed a set of small white chalk marks, but they didn’t look up for them. The little indicators were written at the tops of each corner they needed to take, but they had the path memorized.

"How much do you think we could get for this stuff?" Jon asked.

"I don't know," she said. "A couple hundred each, maybe."

"That’s it?" he asked. “The stone is huge!”

“Yeah, but who’s going to pay us what it’s worth?” she asked. “A fence like O’Toole will have trouble getting rid of it.”

“That sucks,” Jon said.

“That’s just not the way it works. That diamond could be worth millions and O’Toole would only give us a fraction of that. Look at the bright side, we’ll eat like kings tonight. All of us.”

As the words left her lips, they stepped out of the tunnel, and into an abandoned train terminal. Shanties, and tents covered the tiled floors, while ragged people wandered around living out their lives. They passed a group of men, huddling over a burn barrel, talking about the “good ole days”. The strong smell of burning plastic assaulted their nostrils, forcing Ivy to stop.

“The rules are simple Peter,” she said, to the man nearest her, gritting her teeth as the words came out. “We can’t be burning plastic and other harmful things. You’re poisoning everyone here!”

“I’m cold!” he replied, holding his hands over the blue green flames.

“Yeah, we’re cold!” said the other two.

“No, you’re a junkie. You all are, and the only reason you stay here is by the grace of Eddy and his group,” she replied, pointing her finger in their faces.

“We all play a part,” Peter said, sneering at her.

“For now,” Jon said, leering at Peter as he turned and walked off.  

“Ivy!” said a young girl, running up to them. “You’ve gotta come see.”

“What is it, Emily?” she asked.

“Eddy and them found something in the farther sewers,” Emily said, her voice rising with excitement.  “It's some kind of monster caught in one of the tunnels!”

*****

Reedy stood on the corner, talking to the hysterical woman while the EMTs treated her wounds. They placed an ice compress on her face, and told her to hold it there. She pressed it hard, then rested her head on it.

“They came out of nowhere,” she said, pointing towards the alley. Her face was contorted, and sad. “I was standing there, and they jumped me from behind. The young one; the boy; I had him, but then this woman tackled me to the ground.”

“What did they take?” he asked, writing in his notepad.

“They took my phone, my iPod, and the ring my husband gave me,” she said, and broke out crying again. “He’s dead. We renewed our vows when he got diagnosed and he surprised me with it on our wedding day.”

“Approximately, how much was it worth?” Reedy asked, frowning.

“Fifty grand,” she said.

*****

At that moment, Alpha Male touched down on the concrete next to officer Reedy. The woman’s eyes went wide, and her tears dried up for a second.

“What's going on here?” Alpha asked.

“Eh, just more gang activity,” Reedy replied. “They’ve been getting worse lately.”

“What do you mean just?” the woman asked, hysterical again. “They attacked me!”

“Yeah, Rose explained it to me this morning. How have I missed this?” Alpha asked.

“They’re good,” Reedy said. “It’s like they are intentionally doing these small little things so you can’t bust them. I don’t know, but it’s damn smart. Criminals will adapt, you know?”

“Yeah,” Alpha said, looking towards the alleyway. “What's back there?”

“Just a manhole,” Reedy said.

Alpha’s lips tightened as he glared into the darkness

Chapter Four.

Larry walked down the alleyway with the mysterious man. His old, tattered clothing swayed in the afternoon breeze, and he smiled as it whispered through his massive, grey beard. The two of them made their way towards the soup kitchen, while Larry continued to talk.

“I can’t believe you can’t remember who you are,” Larry said, spinning around to talk to his new friend, while managing to walk backwards for a moment. “I mean, I can’t remember to use the bathroom sometimes, or where I’m from, but I never forget my name. It’s the only thing I’ve got.”

Holding up the waist of his oversized pants, the man walked on unsure feet, stumbling a bit as he did. The shoes he wore were too big, and the jacket hung off of him like he was a coat rack. He didn’t speak because he couldn’t. His throat was too dry to form words, but Larry didn’t seem to mind at all. The old drunk just kept talking, and talking, without expecting a response.

“Maybe I’ll give you a name,” Larry said. “Yeah, until you get yours back. How about I call you Al.”

The quiet man held up a finger, signaling that he needed to stop, then shuffled over to the brick wall before slumping to the ground.

"Ya ok?" Larry asked, standing over him.

"Just give me a moment," the man said, panting.

"Oh, you're sweating buckets. You aren’t dying are ya?" Larry asked, peering down at him. Taking his hand, he placed it on the man’s clammy forehead. "You don't seem sick. You don't got the AIDS do ya?"

"What's that?" the man asked between deep breaths.

"Ya know, AIDS!" Larry said. "You a queer or junkie?"

"I don't think so...I don't know," the man said, placing each palm on his temples.  "My head...it's pounding."

"Oh, that's no good," Larry said, looking around again. He reached into the inside pocket of his jacket. "Here, try this, but don't expect me to share again."  

Larry handed the man a label-less bottle full of amber liquid. Twisting the cap, the man sniffed it and winced. Raising both eyebrows, and smiling wide, Larry urged him to drink. The man did and started coughing, spitting most of it out.

"Hey! Don't be wasting my whiskey!" Larry said, swiping it back.

"Sorry," the man said. "It's horrible, and it burns"

"That means its working," Larry said, before taking his own swig, swallowing with a grimace. He ran his filthy sleeve across his mouth, sopping up what was left.

"Oh, god," the man said, gripping his head again.

"You OK, Al?" Larry asked, coming in closer. Taking another drink, he closed the bottle and knelt beside his new friend. All around him, litter and debris started to sway on its own, and a faint rumbling sound came into the alley. Larry turned and watched as an aluminum can danced across the ground.

"Al?" he asked, never taking his eyes off the scene.

"My head hurts so bad..." the man said, as his face turned deep red and sweat began to run from his brow. “It’s happening again."

Larry turned back to the man, face white with fear, and asked, "Are you ok?"

With a violent scream, Al released an invisible force knocking Larry back against the wall. Trash cans, and bags raised off the ground while dumpsters skidded across the ground. The whole area was enveloped in the awful sound of steel on concrete. The man screamed out over the sound, and it was done. Silence took the place of the loud screeching sound, leaving the area feeling empty and spent. Jumping up, Larry rushed over to Al who was lying against the wall.

"Are ya gonna make it?" Larry asked, checking the back of his head for blood. The man was convulsing while trash and debris levitated off the concert around him. Larry inched in closer, and jumped when Al took a deep breath, and coughed.

“Ya still with me?” Larry asked.

Al rested his head in his hand, covering his eyes. “I feel a little better, but I’m starving, thirsty.”

Larry was smiling, exposing every crooked tooth in his mouth. “If you can do that again,” he said, gesturing towards the garbage cans. “Then I can get us all the food we need. Something to drink, too.”

*****

Alpha Male hovered in the sky, looking down on the city; his city. The towering skyscrapers, monuments of progress, dwarfed him by comparison. Without the sirens, and the billowing smoke clouds, the city seemed peaceful once again. Hanging there, just below the top of the tallest building, he watched as the sun went down. The massive orb glowed orange as it dipped down past the horizon, leaving a dark blue sky emanating from where it had once been.  

Lost in that moment, he rested there as the lights flickered on across the city. Tiny windows lit up and neon signs shuttered as they came on. A smile crept across his face and hung there as he took in the view. He soaked up that quiet moment until it was broken by the vibration of his phone. Lifting it up, he saw the name Rose appear on the screen.

“Hello?” he said. Her voice came through the earpiece loud. “Sorry, it’s the wind. Let me get someplace...Oh, Ok. See you soon.”

From there, Alpha could see the precinct where Rose’s office sat. It took him only a moment to fly there, and land on its empty, flat roof. Entering the four digit code, 1962, he unlocked the door and pulled it open. A breeze of air conditioning hit him in the face as he crossed the threshold and moved down the stairs.

"I could see you up there," Rose said as he walked into her office. She pointed towards the wooden, half circle chair in front of her and said, "Sit down." Her hair was down, falling in strands in front of her face and frizzed out in places. Alpha couldn't help but notice a particular laziness in her eyes that wasn't usually there.

Pulling the chair out, Alpha dropped down onto the cushioned seat, never breaking eye contact. "You look drunk," he said, and grabbed the mug sitting on her desk. Taking a big whiff, he curled up his nose, but still took a swig from it.

"Tough day?" he asked, gritting his teeth from the strength of her drink.

"This was recorded earlier today," she said, grabbing up her remote and pressing the play button. The screen went from solid black to a woman in a navy blue suit standing behind a podium.

"While his efforts have greatly helped our city, it may be time to say good bye to Alpha Male. The heroic efforts of this masked vigilante have helped us clean up the streets, but at what point does the cure do more damage than the disease? I feel... we feel it is time for him to step aside and let the police do their jobs"

Rose paused the television again and glared at the hero. "As you can see," she said. "Things are escalating."

"It’s just posturing," he said, rolling his eyes a bit. "You know this will all die down the next time the city needs saving. Just look at this mess from yesterday. You guys still need me."

"No, we don't," Rose said. "If we did, they wouldn't be sending us these."

Reaching into her desk, she pulled out a small metal case. She pressed her thumb to the biometric sensor on the front, and the locks clicked open. Flipping the lid up, she spun it around to where Alpha could see. Inside the case was a small device with a few buttons and a digital read out. Alpha's eyes went wide as he examined the contents of the case.

“What is this?” he asked.

“It’s apparently a sound emitting device designed to take you down,” she said, sniffing her drink,

"Where’d you get it?" he asked.

"These people are serious," she said, draining her drink with a final gulp. "And it looks like I may be going with you."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Apparently, I look weak because I allow your vigilante antics," she said, sitting up in her seat.  "You know, I'd just deputize you if I didn't think that would stir up even more shit."

"They do this all the time," Alpha said, placing his hand on the table. "Trust me, it'll work out."

"Trust you?" she asked as her face lightened up a bit. She got up from her chair, and turned towards the cabinet behind her seat. She lifted a bottle of brown
liquor from behind a set of files and examined it. "I still remember the first time you said those words to me."

"Oh yeah?" Alpha said, sitting back.  "I remember it too.  That building fire was the first time we spoke. Why did you run into that burning building?"

Turning back to him, she smirked while twisting the top. She poured the amber fluid into her mug, then put the bottle down.

"Looking back, it wasn't my best idea," she said.

"You saved those kids," he said, reaching for the bottle.

Rose's hand snapped out and knocked it away. "I consider you to be on duty," she said, then took a large drink. She winced as she swallowed and exhaled the pain.

“You’re hitting that bottle pretty hard yourself,” he said.

"Problems at home," she said through gritted teeth. "About those kids..." she said, but took another swig. “Did I really save them? And if so, from what? One's a junkie now, and the other ran the streets stealing until he dared to pull a gun on an off duty police officer."

"I heard about that. It was Reedy, right?" Alpha asked.

"Yeah, he had to take three months off to get his head on straight. The kid was barely fifteen; flashing his gun in people’s faces. Stupid asshole. If I hadn't of saved him, maybe Reedy would have been spared that bullshit," she said, pouring more whiskey into her mug.

"There are too many variables to even consider any of that. The possibilities are nigh infinite. You not saving those kids would have set off a whole new chain of events. Who knows if you'd even be chief," Alpha said, grabbing the mug with a forced smile as she glared at him. Her eyes lit up as she thought about what he said.

"Holy shit," she said, her grin growing wider. "It's true isn't it? That stupid show my kid watches. You're some kind of scientist aren't you?"

Alpha chuckled and said, "You’re way off."

"Don't tell me the rumors are true," she said, scrutinizing him. "You aren't an alien right?"

"No," he said, stilling grinning. "Not an alien."

"Bah," she said, waving her hand, dismissing the conversation. "Did Beta boy really leave to go to college?" she asked with renewed interest.