Pacific Station Vigilante (Book 1): The Negative Man (City of Chaos) (14 page)

Heather was still out cold by the time I got to Wonder-Tech Tower.  No one was here and I knew my access codes were still good.  I punched in the number and got us inside quickly.  News was already on the radio and they were calling it a super terrorist attack.

There had been no survivors at The Big Burrito.  Whatever happened to Heather turned everyone’s cell phones into little miniature bombs that all went off simultaneously.  Knowing DL the way I did, it was a sure thing he was already on scene.  I just hoped no one saw me leaving with Heather draped over my shoulder.

The computer lab was still a mess, but this would suffice.  I laid her down on one of the tables that was still standing and sat down myself.  “Damnit not Heather…”

“Ughh, my head.”  I saw her arm move up and a hand being placed on her forehead.  “I just had a terrible dream.”

Rolling my chair over, “Hey, are you doing okay?”

She shot up a lot quicker than she should have.  I had to grab her to keep her from falling off the table.  “What did I do?”

She remembered what happened.  Shit.  It was probably too much to ask to not remember something that traumatic.  “It wasn’t your fault.  No one would’ve been able to guess that happened to you.”

I doubted she heard me as the tears started.  Sobbing soon followed and all I could do was just stand there silently, holding her close.  Once she calmed down, she started to question where we were.  “What is this place?”

I wasn’t sure how to answer that one.  “Just know this is a safe place to rest and recover from everything.”

That wasn’t going to be good enough.  “What I don’t need is secrets.  Are you hiding something from me?”

“Actually I am.  There’s something you need to know about me before we can go any further.”

Her eyes left me and went towards something behind me.  I didn’t even have a chance to see what she was looking at before she yelled out, “You’re working with The Dark Lion!”

What she’d seen was DL’s clawed gauntlet.  It was almost as famous as his musty old cowl.  “Yeah, I used to run what’s left of this lab.”

The door behind us flew open.  “Jericho!  And Miss Adams?”

Shit, DL.  “I’m sorry but I had nowhere else to bring her.  I needed to be able to keep her safe until I figured out what happened.”

He kept his cowl up and still had his googles on, obscuring his face.  “I see.  So she was the one behind the unfortunate situation at The Big Burrito.”

She dropped off the table, head down.  “I understand if you need to arrest me.”  Her voice was filled with fear and tears formed in her eyes again.  “I never meant for that to happen.  I don’t know why it did.”

“I have no intentions of turning you into the police Miss Adams.  Jericho has told me much about you and I know you would never do something like this maliciously.”  She acknowledged him meekly.  “That being said, until we can figure out what happened, you are a danger to the public.”

“What do you think we should do?”

He looked at her, deep in thought.  “We need to observe first, in a controlled environment.  Jericho,” he shifted to me, “you already have a task to do, so if you trust me in this, I can help Miss Adams out.”

She wanted to know what I was up to, but I didn’t think it was the time.  “You’re probably the best person to turn to.”

“Speaking of that task, without a cell phone, you’ll need to get in contact with your informant.  I suggest you do so quickly.”  I didn’t want to leave Heather like this, but I wasn’t really in a position to say no.  He was right; Spades would want to know what was going on.  “Like I said, I’ll take care of her and explain as much as I can.”

Looking over at Heather, “You going to be okay?”

“If you’re doing important stuff for The Dark Lion, than you need to keep at it.”  I gave her a hug and a kiss.  “I’ll email you later and hopefully get access to a phone.”

“I hope I do too.”  One last kiss and then I slipped out the secret entrance.  I was curious if and how he was going to tell her the lair was in the Wonder-Tech building.  I know he was sneaky, so whatever he decided would work.  I got back to my car and drove on over to the gl-O-bal Labs building.

Security was there, but I flashed them my badge and said I had work to do in the B5 lab.  The bigger or the two barely waved me by and I got to the elevator.  When I got to my desk, I sent Owen an email to call me at my work phone.

While I waited for a response, I went back to the elemental gun.  I needed something to take my mind off what happened tonight.  I knew she’d been putting on a strong face, but killing that many people would be something that haunted her for a long time.  It took a great deal of self resolve to get over that.

I was putting together a new wiring diagram when the phone rang.  “Jericho, what have I told you about working late?”

“I didn’t have a choice; I was at The Big Burrito tonight when everything happened.”

The jovial tone dropped.  “Is it true what they’re saying?  Is there another super in town?”

“I’ve mentioned my girlfriend Heather Adams to you right?”

“The hot lawyer?  Yes, I do remember her.”

Ignoring his comment about Heather, “She was in the Wonder-Tech building when it went to hell.  Something from that attack triggered something inside her.  She has power.”

“Stay there.  We will talk about this in person.”  The line went dead.

I’d gotten lost in my work again, as a way to escape everything, losing track of time yet again.  It didn’t seem like forty-five minutes had gone by when Owen showed up, but according to the clock, it had.

He had a look of great concern on his face.  “How much do you know of what happened tonight?”

“Everything was going fine until she said she wasn’t feeling well.  I was taking her back to the bathroom when she stumbled over and her eyes went white.  At that point, every cell phone in the place blew up.”  I can’t stress enough how lucky we were ours had been left on the table.

He ran his hand through his hair.  “Just how is that possible?  A power that turns phones into IEDs?  That is dangerous stuff Jericho.”

I was there, I didn’t need reminding.  “In the wreckage, The Dark Lion swept in and took her.  He told me to trust him to protect her.”

“Actually that’s probably not the worst thing that could’ve happened.”  Walker praising Wonderton?  That was a new strategy.  “He’s honorable and reasonable enough to see when someone is innocent.”

“Never thought I’d hear you singing The Dark Lion’s praises.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a Mercury 5 phone.  “It’s good to know your opponents strengths and weaknesses.  Now here, take this.”  He placed the phone in my hand.

“I’ll change the SIM card out and everything.”

“Call me pragmatic, but I carry spares around just in case.  That one already is clean.”  The man was like an evil boy scout or something.

I looked back at the gun.  “This should be ready by weeks end.”

“The gun is important, but make sure you take time for your lady friend.  What’s the point of amassing wealth and power if you have no one to share it with right?”  Owen was just full of surprises tonight.  “I think that’s why The Negative Man failed the first time around.”

“What do you mean?”

“He was a loner; he had no one to share in the glory with.  A man is always stronger when he has those he’s fighting for.”  He pulled out a picture of a young girl, maybe thirteen or fourteen, from his wallet.  “This is my daughter, Becky.  She’s the reason I do what I do.”

Hell, I didn’t even know he had a kid.  “Some may say you’re not exactly father of the year.”

“Yes, but her bank account will always be full and she’ll become a woman in a city that’s not plagued as it is currently.  The Pacific Station she’ll know will be a place of order and control.”  He spoke with such belief.

“How can you be so sure of yourself?”

Still looking at the picture of his daughter, “People always take comfort in knowing someone strong will be out there to keep the order.”

There wasn’t much to respond to, but I took a lot of his points with me.  Having someone to fight for did make someone much more dangerous.  But couldn’t the opposite be said too?  Couldn’t that give the person a great weakness too?  Only time would tell.

“We’re taking significant fire from the southeast entrance!  All units respond!”

I’d hacked into the PSPD’s communications from my post at The Ace Base and cringed.  Spades somehow dug up an army of hired hands and was taking it to the police.  I didn’t know what spurned this impromptu attack, but earlier today I received a text to be here and run the controls on an op.

Grimes voice broke through again.  “Damnit!  We’re losing too many officers!  We need backup!”

“We’ve got ‘em on the run boys!  Keep pressing!”  Hearts, of course, was the one running towards the fire.  Spades was good with hanging behind and letting the muscle of the group take the fight to the cops.

He reached out with his hand and sent a shockwave of energy towards a row of desks.  They flipped up into the air, revealing more cops.  Exposed, all they could do is keep firing, but they eventually succumbed under the overwhelming odds.

This was just so barbaric.  To use such a crude display of force against human police officers seemed so unnecessary.  The police hadn’t been able to do anything to stop The Aces, yet here we were, ransacking the station for fun.  It was almost as if Spades felt the need to let Hearts off his leash and succumb to the rage that was always just under the surface.  Hearts did a good job at hiding it, but if you looked closely, you could see the disdain always hidden beneath the smile.

“Look chief, backups come!”  I looked up to where the police officer was pointing.  A group of masked individuals dropped in from the ceiling, halting the gunfire.

The five figures stood up tall, each wearing an animal mask – Elephant, Tiger, Antelope, Rhino, and Crocodile.  The Elephant seemed to be the leader as this ragtag posse and stepped up to Hearts.  With a campy attempt at a threatening growl, “This ends you pieces of shit.”

Hearts wasn’t about to stand down to these guys, whoever they were.  “Just who do you think you idiots are?  The City Zoo?”

Tiger tried to jump forward, but his comrades held him back, which may have saved his life.  Elephant continued on.  “We are a group of supers who are tired of living in the shadows.  We’ve come together to help The Dark Lion take out thugs like you.”  He jabbed Hearts in the chest, rather hard too.

Spades and Clubs joined Hearts, confronting the new threat.  Spades pushed Hearts to the side.  “As you can see you’re completely outnumbered.  Even with The Dark Lion eliminating my supply of henchmen, I can still find those willing to die for a good cause.”

“What about you?  Are the three of you masked punks willing to die too?”  Tiger’s voice sounded oddly familiar to me.

Spades didn’t even retort.  “Before we eliminate you ‘heroes,’ what do you call yourselves?  I’d like to know what the name of my opposition is.”

Rhino, who didn’t come across as the brightest bulb, proudly stated, “We’re the Station Thugs Destroyers!”

Even as he said it, his friends groaned.  I couldn’t help but pull away from my comm because I couldn’t stop myself from laughing.  Hearts picked up on it too and didn’t bother to hide his amusement at the stupid name.  “You’re the STD’s?  Oh this is rich…”

“That name isn’t universally agreed upon.”  Nothing Elephant could say now would stop this from spreading like wildfire. 

Spades and Clubs weren’t nearly as amused as Hearts and each pulled out their assault rifles.  “Hearts, if you’re done toying with the newcomers, we have a job to finish.”

All hell broke loose.  Hearts sent another wave of energy towards the Animal Brigade (I just couldn’t call them the STD’s), yet they were well prepared.  Elephant used the unusual power of limb expansion and blocked the blast with his hands.  Tiger’s fingers had three inch claws at the tips and he jumped up and raked Hearts mask with them.  Four deep gauges broke up the red on the mask.

Clubs was firing his rifle at Rhino, who charged at him.  Each step Rhino took shook the floor, causing Clubs to miss with all his shots as the man rammed him with his shoulder.  Clubs fell back at an odd angle into the wall and his mask broke into two, sliding off his face.  “I’ve been compromised!”

No one acknowledged him but me.  “Find something to cover yourself with!”

Elephant and Tiger continued their double team attack on Hearts, yet Spades was nowhere to be found.  Antelope, Crocodile, who both appeared to be women, and a newly reenergized police force began taking down the army of thugs with precision and lethal force.  Antelope could jump, really far, and used two daggers to end the thugs’ attacks.

Crocodile had the most unusual ability.  Behind her was a tail that extended from her lower back.  She used it as a bullwhip, snapping gunman and punks with deadly accuracy.

“Diamonds, this is Spades!  Do you have an eye on the situation?”

I engaged the comm quickly.  “Yeah, these newcomers aren’t all that powerful, but they’re very skilled and work wonderfully together.  I suggest a hasty retreat.”

He swore loudly into my ear.  “Damnit I know.  I can’t believe we didn’t see these idiots coming!  At least The Dark-”

A weird yelping noise cut him off.  “You were saying Walker.”  The Dark Lion was here.

“You!”

The comm was snapped out of Spades ear and I lost communication with him.  I still couldn’t see him on the cameras, but I could still watch the mayhem in the station.  Hearts was getting pounded on by a giant fist.  “Hearts, get out of there!”

“I don’t retreat!”

What a stubborn asshole.  “Spades is in trouble, The Dark Lion’s here.”

If my words weren’t enough, Spades body flew in through a window and landed on top of Clubs.  The Dark Lion was right behind him, landing neatly in the middle of the chaos.  “It’s time we put an end to this once and for all.”

Spades stood back up and dusted himself off.  “You had a chance you fool!  Never give me the upper hand!”

The Dark Lion’s eyes went from Spades to Clubs.  “Phil Jenkins… a traitor in my own house.”

Jenkins, without his mask on, looked terrified.  “I… it’s not…”

“No Jenkins, don’t be ashamed of your decisions.”  Spades just stood there stoically, like he had a secret.  “Be proud of your ability to stand here with us, as one of The Aces.”

But it wasn’t the same anymore.  Even though he didn’t realize we’d known his identity for weeks, in his mind the cat was now out of the bag.  “He’ll kill me, just like he did Diamonds!”

All I could do is watch as Spades reached into Clubs just with his intangible hand.  “This will be quick and for the best.”  Clubs looked down in horror and then his eyes rolled back in his head.  Spades removed his hand and Phil Jenkins dropped to the ground dead.

Spades glove was covered in blood.  “With that taken care of, I do feel that we’ve overstayed our welcome.  Hearts, if you would…”

The large man blasted a huge projection of energy in both directions.  It blew back dead bodies, furniture and put two large holes in the walls.  Dust flew up everywhere, clouding my vision from the scene below.  The Dark Lion and the Animal Brigade charged the spot blindly, but I knew it was too late.

As the smoke cleared, I was right.  The Dark Lion and the rest began helping the officers in the station and that’s when I cut the feed to the computers here.  About five minutes later, Spades came over the comm.  “We’re in the van returning.  I think the city got my message tonight.”

If his message was needless violence and death, than yes I’m sure it did.  “Is Jenkins really…”

“A shame, as I really did like him, but he was freaking out and with Wonderton knowing his identity, became a loose end.  In fact, it’s time I started cleaning those up as we’re about to go into the final stage of our plan.”

I knew what he was referring to, but Hearts surprisingly didn’t.  “What’s the last step boss?”

“That’s need to know.”  I heard the brakes slam and the door flew open.  There were the sounds of a brief struggle before the door closed one more time.  “Sorry about that Jericho, I had one last loose end to cut.”

“Is Hearts dead?”

The van shifted back into drive, followed by a loud thudding sound.  “If he wasn’t before, the van just finished the job.”  I think he could sense my apprehension growing.  “Jenkins and Trelewicz were never going to be in the final plan.  But you Jericho, you can help me make this plan flourish!”

He sounded like a lunatic.  “How can your new hero stop The Aces if half of them are dead?”

“Half of them aren’t Jericho and that should be enough to finish what we’ve started.”  I was worried he was starting to lose his grip.  “With your expertise and my execution, I won’t fail!”