A Monster's Death

by Raven Steele

  "Andy."

  "And what's in these barrels, Andy?"

  Oz began to crawl out from under the table.

  "Stay there," I ordered. He crawled back under it.

  I turned back to Andy. "Answer me."

  "It's the chemical we use to make rhino dust." Andy tore off his sleeve and wrapped it around his knee. "I'm going to bleed to death, you know."

  "Where is the chemical made?"

  "I don't know, but it comes from Pigtown."

  "What about the money?"

  He grimaced as he tied the material. "What money?"

  "The money that buys all these drugs. Where does Victor keep it?"

  "I'd like to know that, too," Oz squeaked from beneath the table.

  I shot him a warning look.

  "You think someone like me is going to know that?" Andy yelled. "Help me out! I'm dying here!"

  I took two steps to him and thumped him on top of the head. His eyes rolled back, and he slumped over.

  "Can I come out now?" Oz asked.

  "That was really stupid of you to stick around," I told him while I tied the material better around Andy's leg.

  "Well it worked, right? I saved you."

  I snorted. "How do you figure?"

  "I provided the distraction you needed to take out that guy." He unzipped his bag and rummaged through it.

  "Do you have a lighter in that fanny pack?" I asked him.

  He looked up at me deadpan. "You did not just call this a fanny pack."

  "Do you or don't you?"

  He tossed me a lighter. "It's a waist bag, yo. I don't wear no fanny packs. What do you need a lighter for anyway?"

  I returned to the office and grabbed a can of paint thinner and rags that had been shoved in the corner along with other painting supplies.

  "You've got some mad fighting skills," Oz said. "You do pro-fighting or something?"

  "Something." I dumped some of the paint thinner on a rag and lit it on fire.

  "Whoa! Chill, bro! You're going to kill us all!" He backed up against the wall, but not before snatching up the bag of money that had fallen from the ceiling with him.

  I held the burning rag up to the sprinklers on the ceiling. A moment later, water burst from two of the sprinkler heads. I did the same to two more sets until most of the room sprayed water.

  "You're crazy," he said, nodding his head in open admiration. "I dig it."

  I turned my attention to the nearest barrel and tore off its top. I expected to find a liquid, but instead it was a fine powder.

  Oz peeked over my shoulder. "Do you know the street value of that? We could be millionaires!"

  "And yet we won't be." I took hold of the rim with both hands and spun it to the ground. Powder spilled onto the floor, and the water quickly dissolved it.

  "I can't believe you just did that," he whispered.

  "Then you really won't believe this." I walked around the room and kicked over the rest of the barrels, all seven of them. I made sure every last spec of white dust fell from their container. It wouldn't take long for water to dissolve it all.

  There was one more barrel left, but it was smaller and lighter than the others. I popped the lid. Inside was a bunch of packages, white on top, clear on the bottom. It looked to contain some kind of medical tools. I read the label: Sterile Blood Draw kit. What did they need this for? Maybe it was delivered in error. I left it alone and headed for the exit.

  "Let's go," I said. I didn't look back to see if Oz followed me or not. I was fine if I never saw the reckless kid again.

  Outside in the warm night air, I called the police and left another anonymous tip telling them to also bring an ambulance. All I could do was hope that they would arrest Tom and the others, but I couldn't be sure anymore.

  "Hey, wait up!" Oz called.

  I kept walking.

  "Bruh! Stop walking."

  I turned around. "Don't ever call me bruh. I'm not your bruh and never will be."

  "Fine, dude, whatever. I was just thinking," he slid his thumb back and forth on the inside of his fanny pack, "that maybe you and I could help each other out."

  I raised an eyebrow.

  "Just hear me out," he continued. "I need money and I'm good at stealing it. And it seems like you have a score to settle with Victor, as you clearly don't care about money, which is really weird, but I don't judge. So I say let's work together. I'll help you find his money and drugs. You can go Kong on whoever and whatever and I'll take his dough."

  "I don't work well with others."

  "Neither do I!" he said. "See? We already have so much in common."

  "We're not going to work together."

  I expected him to put up more of a fight, but instead he shrugged. "It's all good. Another time."

  He held out his hand for a handshake, but I just stared at it.

  "You're a real strange dude," he said. "What's your name?"

  "Call me Adam."

  He slapped me on the side of my arm. "It's been real, Adam. Maybe we'll see each other around."

  "Unlikely."

  "You never know," he persisted.

  "Actually, I do."

  "Doubt it."

  I sighed. "Stay out of trouble, kid."

  As I walked away, he called, "Me stay out of trouble? You're the one everyone is going to be looking for!"

  I tried to shake off his words. Oz was right. Victor's men may have not seen my tattoo tonight, but they knew what I looked like and would search for me no matter who I was. No one got away with screwing with Victor. But it wouldn't be just him after me. The police would be looking, too. I did shoot someone, after all.

  I curled my fingers into my palm. I needed to be smarter about all of this. Like Oz. Even though the kid may be obnoxious, he managed to sneak in without anyone knowing it. Something had to change.

  I had to change.

  7

  By the moon’s location in the night sky, it couldn't have been past midnight. I walked down the darkened streets trying to hold back a fierce grin. A feeling of elation and power filled me as I thought about all the rhino dust I had destroyed. Millions of dollars' worth of drugs that could've ended up on the street. And this was just the beginning of the destruction I would rain down upon Victor's network.

  The more I thought about it, the more I realized how easy it had been. I should’ve been doing this all along. Screw what Roman said. How many lives could I have saved if I had ignored his counsel?

  Part of me wished Roman could've been there to see it. I had more strength and speed than anyone living I had ever heard of, other than Roman, of course. I knew I could make a difference without becoming a mythical creature from the past. Humans could be monsters enough without bringing real ones back to life. I would become just like my father, nothing more. And it would be enough.

  I meant to head in the direction of the closest Ironwood entrance, but instead I kept walking, enjoying the feeling of power coursing through me. I wasn't sure exactly where I was going until I got there. I stopped in front of a tall glass window and peered inside the small café. I wasn't sure she would be there—I hoped she wouldn't be as it wasn't safe yet—but I couldn't deny the spark of excitement that ignited within me when I saw Emma behind a cash register ringing up someone's bill.

  She was brave to be here after being attacked. I had always known she was brave, though. One time when we were younger, an unleashed dog had run at us, barking fiercely. Before I could do anything to stop the canine, Emma had picked up a stick and jumped in front of me. She yelled at the animal and swung the stick back and forth. Not once had she appeared frightened. Eventually, the dog's owner had caught up to us and reined in their dog, but that was the first moment I realized I was falling in love with this girl.

  I should keep walking. I should not be taking these extra seconds to watch her through the window or to think about that special moment. I should leave now.

  Instead, I found my body moving in the direction of the door. It
had just been too good of a night. And I deserved this small moment of happiness.

  I quietly opened the door to avoid any jingling of a bell that might be hanging on top of the door and dropped into the nearest booth. There were only a handful of people in the diner at this late hour. Those numbers would only thin until closing at two in the morning.

  I kept track of her movements from the corner of my eye. Her long brown hair was swept back into a loose bun secured with a thick, blue ribbon. She wore a spaghetti strap floral dress with a white apron over the top. Even though I admired her bravery, showing up at work this soon was borderline reckless. She probably knew as well as I did that those men had been released. So why did she do it?

  I studied the customers in the café. None of them seemed too interested in her. I glanced outside the window to survey the streets, too. I should've done this sooner to make sure she wasn't being watched. That was careless of me. The night’s events, the adrenaline still coursing through my blood, had impaired my judgment.

  From what I could see, the streets were mostly empty. There were no parked cars with men sitting inside watching the café and no other suspicious characters. It did strike me as odd that Victor would give up so easily. Maybe he had his hands full with something else. Maybe he'd already heard about what had happened at the warehouse. I guess if he had friends at the police station, he easily could have.

  "Would you like a menu?" a familiar voice asked. It had been a long time since that voice had spoken to me.

  I turned away from the window. My eyes met hers, and I froze, old and new feelings slamming into my chest all at once. I sucked in a breath through my teeth as a pleasant chill raced throughout my body. I stared at her dumbly and swallowed.

  She smiled warmly and handed me a menu. "I'll just leave it here. I'll give you a few minutes and come back."

  I rammed my fist into my other palm. What an idiot! I should've at least said something!

  For the next few minutes, I reminded myself who I was in that moment. I was not Aris Crow who could possibly be the worst enemy of the city’s biggest crime boss, and I sure wasn't the son of Coast City's last hero. I was just Adam Smith, college student and all-around boring guy. By the time Emma returned, I was ready.

  "Are you ready to order?" she asked a moment later.

  I had forgotten that part. I quickly opened the menu and ordered the first thing I saw. "I will have the Oriental Chicken Salad with a Coke."

  She lifted her eyebrows and said while she scribbled the order on a pad, "You don't strike me as the salad type."

  I silently cursed. "Can you add a burger to that?"

  She grinned. "I'm just giving you a hard time. You don't have to order something else."

  I chuckled uncomfortably. "I'm actually starving. It's been a long night."

  She looked up from her pad. "Oh yeah? What have you been up to?"

  "Cleaning up messes at work," I blurted.

  "Where do you work?"

  "At an auto shop on the other side of town. Restoring old cars."

  "That sounds like fun."

  "It's not bad, but I bet you meet way more interesting people here."

  Her expression darkened. "Yeah, well. That's not always a good thing. I'll go put your order in."

  She walked away. The elated feeling I had been feeling burnt to a crisp. I shouldn't be here. I should be out there plotting my next move against Victor, the one who was ultimately responsible for Emma's suffering. But when I looked over at her, the way she bit the end of her pencil as she typed my order into a computer, I couldn't bring myself to leave. This was just one small encounter with her, nothing more. Didn't I deserve that after all I'd done tonight?

  The front door opened and in walked two men. I kept my eyes on them as they sat at a table. The one with shaggy blond hair stared at Emma, but I couldn't tell if it was in an I'm-assigned-to-watch-you sort of way, or in a she's-hot way. Both didn't make me happy. Either way, it made me want to ram his head into the table, but I forced my arms still at my side.

  She walked over to their table and handed them menus. "Can I get you boys something to drink?"

  "You bet you can," Shaggy said, his gaze sliding up and down her.

  "Water for me," the other, larger man said. He didn't have any interest in Emma and was busy looking at his cell phone.

  These men weren't Victor's. They were just regular assholes.

  "And you?" Emma asked Shaggy, her voice steel.

  "I'll have milk, the creamier the better."

  She rolled her eyes and walked away.

  I would love to have a moment alone with that man. I'd make sure Shaggy never hit on another woman in his lifetime.

  It wasn't long before Emma returned to my table with food. She set it on the table and said, "You look so familiar to me. Have we met before?"

  The question startled me and pulled me out of my pretend persona. "I, uh-"

  "At the courthouse perhaps? There was a guy there—"

  "I was there earlier today," I said quickly. Better she thought she knew me from somewhere else other than our childhood. "I had to pick up a friend."

  "That must be it." She still stared at me tapping the end of her pencil against her bottom lip. "You really look like someone I used to know."

  "I have one of those faces."

  "Maybe."

  "Hey lady!" Shaggy called. "Bring that hot ass over here! We're ready to order."

  She moaned and said in a quiet voice, "If I kill this guy, will you be my witness and say it was in self-defense?"

  I grinned. "He has it coming."

  She laughed and the sound made the tightening in my chest loosen. There wasn’t a greater feeling than to see joy on her face. It’s something I wished I could do forever.

  She took the men's order, having to put up with more of Shaggy's crap, then disappeared into the kitchen.

  "Hey," I said to the two men. They looked over at me. "Give the lady a break. She's been working all day."

  Shaggy's left eye twitched. "Why don't you mind your own business?"

  "I would but I'm trying to eat and your crude and tasteless humor is making me sick."

  The large man chuckled and returned to looking at his phone.

  "I'll do whatever the hell I want," Shaggy said.

  I slid from the booth and slowly stretched tall. "You're disturbing everyone in here including the waitress. If you continue, I will be forced to take you outside to settle this."

  Shaggy's face paled, probably because he underestimated my size.

  "Just forget it," he mumbled and stared down at his drink.

  Emma came out of the kitchen and stared at me. She shifted her focus to Shaggy and frowned as if she could sense the tension in the air. I dropped back into my seat and proceeded to eat my food. She dropped off the men's desserts and asked if they needed anything else. Shaggy shook his head, not looking at her once.

  She walked over to me. "Did you have something to do with that creep’s one-eighty?"

  "I don't know what you're talking about."

  "Uh-huh, right."

  "How's your head?" I asked, before I could stop myself.

  "My head?"

  I pointed to her hairline. "What happened?"

  "Clumsy, I guess."

  "I hope whatever you crashed into stayed down." I locked eyes with her, an intense heat passing between us. My pulse pounded in my ears, and my mouth became dry.

  She cleared her throat and lowered her gaze. "Do you need anything else?"

  "Just the bill," I said, silently berating myself. It was hard to stay in character around her when all I wanted to do was confess who I really was and go back to being her friend. If not more.

  She left me alone, but returned shortly later with my check. "I'm off in a few minutes. Do you want to stay and we'll have coffee or something?"

  I was taken aback by her offer. Coming in to see her for a short time was one thing, but to spend actual, quality time with her was another
. I didn't dare risk putting her life in danger should someone recognize me.

  "I'm sorry, but I have to get going.” The words hurt as they left my mouth.

  "Right. Okay. Maybe I'll see you around." She left before I could say anything else.

  I dropped my head into my hands, groaning. I would’ve given anything to stay, but it just wasn't safe.

  I slid money on the table and left the building. After my parent's death, and my presumed death, all their money went to Kristen per their Will, but she had given me every penny. It was enough that I could've lived comfortably in some other country having the life I had always wanted, but I could never leave this city. Someone had to protect it.

  Across the street, I hid within the shadows to watch the café until Emma left work. It didn't take her long to walk the few blocks to her home, and she was on her cell talking to her mother the entire time. It probably made them both feel better.

  Knowing she was safely at home, I returned to Ironwood. I didn't need much sleep, but I was tired. Mostly my mind. Thoughts on how best to take down Victor had begun to blur. Maybe Roman could offer some clarity.

  I found Roman in his usual spot sitting cross-legged at the center of the Halo. This is where he usually went to hear things happening above and to meditate. I wondered how much he’d heard, specifically my fight at the warehouse with Tom.

  I cleared my throat.

  He opened his white eyes. "You finally made a move."

  By his monotone voice and flat expression, I couldn’t tell if he was upset or not. I waited for him to say more before I chose how to react.

  “It was risky but effective. Victor’s men are chattering.”

  I lowered on the stone floor across from him, relieved he wasn’t too upset.

  "What are they saying?"

  "Some say it was the Crow risen from the grave who destroyed everything, but others say it was a simple robbery. Money was taken."

  "That wasn't me. It was some kid who happened to show up at the same time I was there. He's smart but also careless."

  Roman said nothing, but he was thinking. That's all he ever did. I said nothing and waited.

  "The Physician was released earlier today," he finally said. "The judge dropped the case against him."