by Raven Steele
I sat up, shocked. No wonder Victor's men were no longer following Emma. The Judge had caved.
"It's time for you to start eliminating those helping Victor," Roman said slowly as if choosing his words carefully. "Starting with the judge."
"What do you mean by eliminate?" I asked.
"If the laws of the land no longer protect the innocent, then we need to take the law into our own hands."
"Are you telling me to start killing people?" I gripped the tips of my knees tightly, angered he’d even suggest it. He knew how I felt about using my unnatural abilities to end life.
"I'm telling you that you must do whatever is necessary. You can't trust the law anymore to punish the criminals in this city."
"I won't murder people. My father cleaned up this city without killing, I will do it, too."
His expression didn't change, but I sensed a controlled rage bubbling beneath his surface. I had seen this side of him before when he got angry. Like me, he had darkness inside him caused by V proteins flowing through his blood. It was a feeling of primal rage, a desire to unleash our power against those around us. I controlled mine by focusing on my father's work. Roman kept his in check by obsessing with elemental magic.
This focus was taught to us by the Ames de la Terra, during the five years we lived with them shortly after my parents were killed. Most of my first memories were of this secret group of people and the magic they practiced. I can't say it was the best time of my life, but they had taught Roman a lot.
"There is much you need to learn about the past," Roman said. "Jonas knew the importance of doing what needs to be done."
"My father knew the importance of life. I've read his papers many times."
"You only have his earlier reports," he clarified, his voice even. "His expeditions, the testing, our successes and failures. Jonas and Victor exceeded our wildest imaginations."
"But Victor screwed all of that up," I finished. I knew the story well.
"That's not how the story ended." Roman came to his feet.
I drew my eyebrows together and scrambled off the floor. "What aren't you telling me?"
"This isn't the time. You need to focus your attention on the judge who released the Physician back into the world, the police who continue to allow this to happen, and the Physician himself. You are strong and can easily change the direction of our city, but it will be more difficult than it needs to be, dangerous even. You have V proteins in you. If you would just agree—"
"Stop. You know how I feel about that. I will not turn. That's not what this city needs."
He released a breath through his nose. "I fear people may die because of your inability to see the obvious."
I couldn't listen to another word. "I'm going home."
Roman lowered his head slightly but didn't say anything as I walked away from the Halo. I hated it when he spoke of things that hadn’t happened yet. There's no way he could know crime would get worse if I didn't change. Turning into a vampire would only bring on a whole new set of problems, ones I never want to deal with.
I meant to return to my small post office home, but I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep. Roman's words had angered me. Why couldn't he have some faith in my abilities, especially since he had witnessed my father do exactly what I'm trying to do?
I paced the many tunnels, even the ones that were practically destroyed. I knew these passageways forwards and backwards and could walk them with my eyes closed. It's all I did as a child when I was bored. I was bored a lot.
Eventually, I returned to the good part of Ironwood, but not to my house. I slipped into the open doorway of what used to be a bookstore. Most of the shop had caved in, especially in the back, but there were still plenty of books. I would sometimes come in here and read while sitting on a hammock I had hung up from the ceiling.
I walked to it and stretched out the white mesh so I could sit on it, but just before I did, I heard, "This is the coolest place I've ever been to."
I whirled around.
Oz smiled at me. "You didn't think you could get rid of me so easily, did you?"
8
I rushed Oz and easily picked him up by the neck with one hand, pressing him to the wall. Before he could utter another word, I cut off the air to his lungs and mouthed the words, "Be quiet."
I checked the time on my watch. Three minutes until six a.m. I had to keep Oz quiet until then or Roman would hear him. Once Roman was shut inside his sensory deprivation tank, he wouldn't be able to hear a thing. This is when I used to sneak up to the surface when I was younger. A six-hour window every day is all I ever had without Roman's highly sensitive ears hearing everything I did.
Oz kicked his feet in the air and clawed at my arm. I slowly lowered him to the ground and pressed my hand to his mouth.
"Shhhh," I whispered.
Oz nodded his head as if he understood. I slowly removed my hand. He shoved at my chest and flicked his arms into the air as if to say, "What the hell?"
I tapped my wristwatch and made the number two with my fingers. He shook his head and folded his arms to his chest, his eyebrows drawn together.
I waited for the minutes to count down. When I was sure Roman was sealed tight away from the world, I said, "We can talk now."
"What was that all about?" he asked.
"I'm not the only one down here."
He glanced around nervously. "How many other people live here?"
"Just me and one other. My mentor."
"Mentor?" He laughed. "First I thought it was really weird that you were going underground, then I was even more weirded out by discovering this strange place, but hearing you have a mentor and you guys are the only ones who live down here, well, it's all pretty jacked up."
"What are you doing here? And how did you find me?"
"I followed this." He reached over and removed something small on my jacket. He held it up for me to see.
I shoved him hard into the wall behind him. "I don't like being followed."
He raised his hands in defense. "I can appreciate that, but I had to. I think you're the only one who can help me."
"Help you do what?"
"I need cash. Lots of it. If you really are going to track down where they're making rhino dust, I can guarantee there's gong to be money there, too. And a lot of it."
"Whatever I find, I'm going to destroy. My goal is to take out Victor's network and that starts with stopping the flow of money."
He scratched his face and pursed his lips. "Look, I'm all for destroying the big bad Victor, but there's no reason to destroy the money, too. We can do a lot of good with it."
I chuckled. "I'm sure you're going to do a lot of good with it. First chance you get, you'll probably use it to get out of the city and onto a tropical island somewhere."
His expression darkened. "You don't know me. Stop pretending."
"You're right. I don't know you and I don't want to. You were the one who followed me here, remember?" I left the bookstore and walked on the boardwalk back to my house.
Oz followed after me. "Let's start over. I need your help and you need mine."
Over my shoulder, I said, "And what can I possibly need from you?"
"Because I know where to find more rhino dust."
I whirled around. "And how would you already know that?"
He was about to answer me when he frowned and looked around. We were in the nicest part of Ironwood. Roman had taken years to repair it. If it wasn't for the concrete roof over our head, one might actually think we were in a real town.
"Where are we exactly?" he asked.
"We are in Ironwood. The part that wasn't destroyed. Now tell me where to find rhino dust."
"So after you left the warehouse," he explained, "I followed you. You didn't even know that, did you?"
I shrugged one shoulder. It did bother me that I hadn't noticed. I will have to be more careful.
"I told you I was good." He grinned. "Anyway, I followed you to that café on Bank S
treet where you flirted with some waitress for, like, ever."
"I wasn't flirting."
"Doubt it. Anyway, while you were getting that chick's number, I checked in with some of my," he made the quotes motion with his fingers, "friends. This might surprise you, but I know some shady people."
"Not surprised."
He ignored me and pulled out a cell phone from his fanny pack. He brought it to life and read over some messages. "One of my contacts said that they are making rhino dust in a place called the ‘Halls of Ivy’."
"I've never heard of it."
He tapped his head with his pointer finger. "Here's something I've learned about Victor's men over the years. They're not smart. They like to use code words, but they're not really code words at all. They're just synonyms of other words. So while you were trying to get with the waitress, I did a thesaurus check on Halls of Ivy. Another word for it is school. I searched all of Coast City and guess what I found?"
"Victor's making rhino dust in a school?" I asked.
"Not just any school. It's an abandoned elementary school that was closed six years ago. Check this out."
He turned the screen of his cell phone toward me. I examined the picture of the run-down school. The windows and doors had been boarded up, with chains keeping the doors in place. Whatever grass might've been there was now patchy and yellow.
"This doesn't prove anything," I said.
"Did you not see the brand new Mustang in that picture? What high-roller would park their fancy ass ride next to a gutter-ball school?"
I took the phone from him and looked at the image again. In the background, I spotted the front end of the Mustang parked to the side of the school.
Oz snatched the phone from me and placed it back in his fanny pack. "I'd bet my left nut that this is where they are cooking. And this is why you need me. I can help you find things and get to places you may not already know of. Plus I'm really good with computers and breaking into things. You saw my skills firsthand."
I stared at him for a moment, wondering if I should actually give him a chance. Roman would be against it, but if this kid could help speed up the process of destroying Victor, then I would be a fool not to allow his help. But it might be dangerous for him.
"Do you know who I am?" I asked.
Oz looked me up and down, his eyes lingering at the top of my crow's head on my neck. I reached up wondering how much of the cover-up had worn off. I may need to try a new brand.
"It looks like you have a tattoo just like Jonas Crow had, but you can't possibly be him. I'd guess you were some copycat, but you fight too well. In fact, your style is a lot like Jonas's was. I'd know. I watched every second of footage I could find on the guy." He walked across the boardwalk deep in thought. "I know what people are saying."
"What are they saying?"
"That you are the ghost of Jonas Crow returned to seek vengeance for your wife and son's death. They say you're going to tear the city apart until blood runs in rivers through the streets, but others say you're an angel come to save the city. So which is it?"
I had to think about my answer. I wanted to save the city with the least amount of damage as possible, but if Roman ended up being right, the streets would flow with blood. "I'm going to do my best to stop Victor. The police and justice system have become corrupt. People don't know who to turn to anymore."
"You got that right."
I began walking again back to my home. Oz jogged to catch up.
"If you really plan on taking down Victor, then you need to do something about your appearance. You can't walk around in the day and then fight them at night."
"What would you suggest? I'm not going to wear some stupid costume."
"You just need something to hide your face. You're also going to need some weapons. I can't believe you showed up at that warehouse completely unarmed. That was pretty stupid."
I walked up the two steps and through the entrance of the post office. "You want to see weapons?"
I moved to the back of the post office to a three-row bookcase in the back.
"Is this where you live?" he asked, scanning the room.
"It is." I jerked on the bookcase. It opened like a door, revealing a small room. Over a century ago it had been a safe to hold valuable items.
He walked up behind me and laughed. "Holy shit! You have enough weapons to supply a small army!"
He picked up a small curved knife with a single cutting edge. "This is so badass."
"Don't touch that."
"What is it?"
"It's a kirpan and very old."
He carefully set it down and walked around the room in open admiration of all the weapons. I had to admit, I sometimes came in here to ogle, too. My father had collected many of these from his expeditions across the world. The newer weapons were ones Roman had purchased.
"Which one is your favorite?" he asked.
I ran my fingertips over the handles of many of the swords and even a few guns. It was hard to choose. There were several, including the smaller knives, I could've chosen, but my hand stopped on a scimitar, a shorter, deeply curved sword with a wide blade. Something about it had always drawn me to it. It had also been one of my father's favorites.
"This one," I said. I picked it up and sliced it through the air.
Oz backed up. "I would not want to be on the receiving end of that blade."
I set it back down and left the small room. "What do you know about the Physician?"
He whistled low. "The dude's crazy. Even Victor's own men are afraid of him, but Victor loves him."
"Have you met Victor?" Despite everything Kristen and Roman had said about how Victor would kill me if he knew I was alive, I sometimes wondered if that were true. It was hard to wrap my head around the idea that my father's best friend would want to kill me all because I threatened the stranglehold he had on the city.
"I saw him once." Oz walked past me, scowling. "He needs to be stopped, and if you're the only one who can do it, then I want to help. But first, you're going to need to find a cop that will actually arrest him, a lawyer who will prosecute him, and a judge to sentence him. This whole town is too afraid to go against Victor."
I groaned and dropped onto the only sofa in the room. People were afraid and for good reason. Victor was known for torturing and killing anyone who opposed him. Their bodies were often left in the streets for others to see. I needed to find a way to make others not afraid.
"You shouldn't have come here," I said to Oz. "Just knowing me is dangerous."
"I still don't even know who you are exactly. I can only guess." His eyes went to the wall with pictures and news clippings of my father.
"And what would you guess?"
His gaze returned to me. "You're his son. Everyone thought you died along with Jonas and his wife in the fire, but that was all staged to keep you safe. Makes sense. You would've been a big target for someone wanting to take over Moretti's place. Someone like Victor."
I nodded, confirming his suspicions. "That's why it's dangerous for you to know me."
"Get over yourself," he said. "My whole life I've been walking a tight wire with fire-breathing crocodiles beneath me. Hanging out with you ain't nothing. Besides, when I saw you fight those men with no fear, that was the first time I actually believed things might change for the better. That I wasn't the only one trying to take down these bastards."
"But you're stealing from them," I said.
He lifted his chin. "I guess that makes me just as bad as them, then, right?"
I shrugged, not knowing how to answer the question. I didn't plan on stealing from anyone, criminals or not. Whatever money I found, I was going to destroy, just like everything else of Victor's.
"Whatever, dude," he said. "I gotta go crash. I'll call you later tonight about hitting up Halls of Ivy."
He was almost to the door, when I called out, "You don't have my number."
"Sure I do. I paired my phone to yours thirty minutes ago. I also
sent you a text so you have my number, too. Just in case." He disappeared.
I listened to his light footsteps walk along the boardwalk, then I jumped to my feet and quickly changed my clothes for the day, wearing jeans and a gray t-shirt. I pulled on a hoodie to help cover my tattoo, then hurried to follow Oz. He seemed decent enough, but he knew too much about me now. If I was going to work with him, I needed to find out who this guy was.
I stayed a safe distance away as Oz returned to the surface. The kid was smart. That much was obvious, but there was something driving him and I needed to find out what. If it was greed, then I wanted nothing to do with him. Revenge, same thing. Our reason for fighting had to be more than those things. My aunt had taught me that in her many letters she used to sneak to me.
Like usual, I kept to the shadows as I followed Oz through the streets of Coast City. He had been right about one thing—I did need to protect my identity. Maybe later, I would find something I could use.
Oz ducked inside a convenience shop while I waited outside. The sun was just beginning to come up. Sometimes it was hard to see its light when I was smothered within all of the high buildings. They were a vice that often felt too constricting. That's why I loved being up high where I could see for miles and breathe in fresh air.
Oz walked out of the store holding a coffee and donut and headed back down the street. After a few minutes, I realized he was traveling toward Pigtown. I groaned in frustration. Going to Pigtown always made me want to fight. Crime was everywhere and no police to stop it. Anyone who wanted to live avoided the place as much as possible.
A few years ago, Roman had taken me to Pigtown when it had become time for me to practice on real criminals. I'd worn a ski mask and a black hoodie. I hated that ski mask. It was itchy and made me sweat more than usual.
My time in Pigtown wasn't all bad, though. Roman had taught me to drive on its backstreets. It was an interesting experience learning to drive from a blind man.
Oz turned on a street just before entering Pigtown and stopped at a rundown apartment. Brown stucco barely clung to the eight-story building. Parts of it were cracked and peeling around the many windows, some of which had been boarded up. The whole mess screamed for renovation, but with the building being so close to Pigtown, it would probably never happen. Oz skipped up the steps to the main entrance and pressed a code to get inside the doors.