“That was... unexpected,” he said.
“What happened?” she asked, still clutching his hand.
“I’m not sure. But, you found the information we were looking for. It’s an address in Vladivostok.”
“Russia?” she asked the AI.
“Russia,” he confirmed.
“Epic, can you show me more of how to do... what you do? Please?”
He looked down at her holding his hand. “Of course.”
CHAPTER 15
Roy ended up taking me to a delicious sushi bar… something I hadn’t had in ages. He asked to order for me and I was happy to let him. It was nice to let someone else make the decisions for a little while, to give up the reins.
The food was excellent and when the meal was over he ordered a bottle of Prosecco. I blushed when I took my first sip; I couldn’t remember the last time I had anything more than a beer, and even those were few and far between.
“You said you were new in town?” he asked, leading the conversation.
I smiled as I took another sip, enjoying the flavor and the slight burn as it caressed my throat all the way down. The key to keeping a cover intact was to be vague and general with the important things, and specific with the things no one could ever pin down.
“Mhmm, just moved here. I spent some time in Central America and I didn’t care for it too much,” I said. Vague, but specific.
“Oh wow. I’ve always wanted to go. What was it like?”
“Same as everywhere else. Were you in the military?” I asked, redirecting to him.
He raised an eyebrow on me and set his glass down. “Marines, five years, non-comm? You?” he asked casually. Too casually, fishing for information.
Madi, stop it. He’s interested in you as a person, that is all.
“Nope, I spent my time as a free spirit, doing little things here and there,” I said. Was that disappointment in his eyes?
“Where did you learn to shoot?” he asked.
“Oh, that. You know, friends.”
“Actually, I don’t know. You’re really good. I mean, Sam, you’re really good. The fact that you picked up my pistol cold and painted a smiley face... it was impressive as hell.”
I smiled, more like a large grin and hid part of my face behind my glass while reaching out to touch his hand. “I was trying to impress you.”
“You succeeded,” he said with an obvious swallow. “Good thing for you I’m not one of those immature types who can’t take other people being better at things than me,” he said with a sly grin.
“My dad loved old westerns. I guess a lot of older men do. He certainly did,” I said. Thinking of Dad was like poking a fresh wound with a stick. Was I ever going to be better? Who knows? I certainly didn’t. Roy picked up on my distress, and shifted his hand over mine and squeezed.
“Did you lose him?” he asked.
I opened my mouth to lie about it, but I just... couldn’t. Instead, I just nodded jerkily and continued on, trying to keep my voice even. “He liked this TV show called Alias Smith and Jones. They never said it on the show, but they were Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid... uh... you know who they are, right?”
“Never heard of them,” he said. “Should I have?” I opened my mouth to retort when he broke into a big grin. “Of course I’ve heard of two of the most famous American outlaws.”
“Punk,” I said. I was secretly grateful he broke the tension. It made speaking about my dad easier. “Anyways, long story short, there is this scene where Sundance is teaching a kid how to shoot and the kid says something to the effect of, ‘are you the best?’ and Sundance replied, ‘For now, but there’s always someone better.’ You know, that really stuck with me. I always tried to remember, it wasn’t about being better than everyone else, just be better than I was yesterday.”
He squeezed my hand again and for a brief second, I felt like a normal person and that scared the hell out of me. I pulled my hand back as my blood ran cold. What was I doing? I didn’t get this... this life. Girls like me didn’t get the boy in the end.
“Better at what?” he asked.
I leaned back, trying to cover my sudden change of heart, and gave him a tight smile. “Whatever comes my way. Listen, it’s getting late, I need to get home.”
He couldn’t hide his disappointment, but then again, he didn’t need to. I knew he would be. I’m an idiot.
✽ ✽ ✽
I didn’t wait for him to get out when we pulled up in front of my house, just leaped out, leaned over into the car and smiled at him. “Thanks for the dinner. I’ll call you in a few days.” Then I was gone, hurrying to the door before he called me on my BS.
I struggled to open the locks and when I finally did, I pushed my way in. As I shut the door I saw him watching, making sure I got in okay. I turned and leaned against the door, sinking to my knees and falling to the floor to land on my butt.
✽ ✽ ✽
Roy waited a few seconds, making sure everything was okay. When he was sure, he pulled back out into traffic and headed for the station. She was far too evasive in her answers to put his curiosity to rest. He would run the bullet and see if matched any of the others that came from the slaughter at the garage.
It nagged at him the whole way there. It was one thing to love guns and be good with them like she was. But... she had a sword in her bag. All he could see was the headless, handless corpses. He really wanted her to be innocent, but the more he got to know her, the less likely that seemed.
✽ ✽ ✽
My phone buzzed, startling me. I pulled it out of my pocket, answered, turned on the speaker phone and threw it on the couch as I pulled myself up.
“Madi, did you have fun?” Krisan asked.
“No,” I said. “And I won’t be seeing him again, not socially. I hope that isn’t why you’re calling?”
“Nope!” Her excitement at whatever she found permeated her voice. “I found the bank the cartel gave you and traced the number to a place in Russia. Vladivostok to be exact.”
“Am I supposed to know where that is?” I asked her. I made my way into the kitchen, poured a tall glass of water, downed it in one gulp, then poured and downed another.
“I’d tell you how utterly cool it was to get this information, and the other awesome things Epic showed me how to do, but you sound completely unimpressed. Was your date that bad?” she asked.
I scowled, tossing the glass into the sink and secretly wishing it shattered. “Yes. Okay. Russia. Great. I’ll call Lockheart and see how we get there. Good work, Kris, you really came through,” I said.
“Uh, thanks? Madi, you okay?”
I fumed as I retrieved my phone and looked at the cancel call button, debating what to say, finally I just settled for, “No.”
CHAPTER 16
Lockheart couldn’t come with me. Some law or another prevented her from operating outside the US—something she was usually willing to ignore. However, Russia was extremely vigilant about their sovereign rights when it came to foreign superheroes, especially since the last few years had seen them sink into a historic depression.
They had their own super team, which was more like a superpowered arm of their secret police. If she were involved in a dustup on Russian soil there would be ramifications for her. However, if the Th’un really were there, she was on standby to come in anyway. She just needed verification of his presence.
The Emjet hummed along smoothly, cutting through the air over the Pacific ocean on it’s way the Sea of Japan, which bordered both Russia and Japan.
“So what you’re saying is, it’s going to be cold there?” I asked Epic.
Very much so. Amelia has designed some special gear for you. Please use it. Not only will it keep you warm, but it is bullet resistant and made of smart materials that self repair.
The black suitcase in the seat across the aisle from me had piqued my curiosity the whole trip, but after we took off from the airport and I went over the plan with Epic, I hadn’t
really had time to look at it.
I unbuckled and slipped over to the next seat, turned the suitcase and unzipped it all the way around before throwing the top open and looking inside.
The outfit was pretty darn impressive. It also looked exactly like what I would normally wear, only a slightly darker mix of black and grays... like camouflage.
“Are your cameras off?” I asked the AI.
They can be.
When they were, I stripped down to my underwear and pulled out the clothes. The pants were thin but heavy, like three pairs of jeans in one. I slipped them on, luxuriating in the way they felt against my skin. Once I had them around my waist they seemed to adjust on their own. The shirt was next, absolutely form fitting, hugging every curve in place.
“Uh this is a little... revealing.
The material needs to be thin and snug in order to compress and protect you from falls as well as blunt weapons. You have worn Kevlar before?
“Yeah, lot’s of times.”
Imagine if there was an inch between you and the armor when a high-powered round struck...
The difference would be like holding a steel plate an inche from my face, and having someone hit it versus holding it tight to my face. “Got it, still...”
There is a jacket.
“Ooh, better.”
I shrugged the jacket on and instantly liked it better. The shirt had a diamond pattern on it and was a light gray that almost seemed to shimmer in the light. The jacket was a dull black, with a two-layered zipper system that folded into a seal, closing the front and leaving me with a military cut in front. Under the collar was an expandable red face mask made of the same material. I pulled it up and stretched it around my mouth and nose. Once it was in place the whole thing gave me a very dangerous look.
“And it’s bullet proof?” I asked.
No. It is bullet resistant. It should stop standard handgun and rifle rounds. I suggest you avoid anything larger, or extreme close range.
“Excellent,” I said, examining the outfit in detail. It came with everything, including boots that were far more flexible and gripping than my usual fare, and gloves that had the same grippy material on them that the boots had.
“I like it. The less energy I have to spend on healing you, the better,” Spice said from the seat I had occupied a minute before.
“I thought you would,” I said.
Thought I would what?
“Sorry, Epic, I was talking to Spice.”
She is here, right now?
I nodded, going through some standard motions with the new outfit, trying to get a feel for it. Honestly, it felt like I was wearing really tight workout clothes.
Interesting.
I closed the case, leaving the clothes on but unzipping the jacket as it was a little warm. I didn’t tell them that Spice can regulate my body temperature, but like she said, the less she has to do, the better.
“What’s interesting?” I asked as I sat back down and buckled in.
Most telepathic communications happen on an electromagnetic frequency that is virtually undetectable. I say virtually because it just requires the right detectors. I am detecting no communications.
Spice smiled and tapped a finger against her temple with a wink.
“Well... we don’t communicate telepathically. At least that’s what she says...” I glanced at the source of my powers, and sometimes my misery. She just smiled sweetly.
As I said, interesting.
The rest of the flight was filled me with me going over maps of the city: the site where the bank directed us, major streets, and several different escape routes. I also took the time to go over my gear. I was carrying a little more this time: Sword, pistols, and knives, of course. I really wished we could go back to me carrying around a truck load of explosives, but it was a little harder to find in the US than in other places. We lucked out in New Orleans, finding the black marketeer selling stolen plastic. In Arizona, not so much.
Epic decided the best place to land was Pokrovsky Park. It was a central location and had several rock outcroppings that he could land the Emjet on and remain undetected.
Then it was just a matter of catching a few winks before we were in another country.
Madisun, there is something I should warn you about, and... well it is delicate.
“If I had to guess, it’s that I’m black and there aren’t a whole lot of black people in Russia,” I said with a yawn.
Yes, how did you—
“Experience. Don’t worry about it. I don’t plan on being seen. And if I am, well, that’s what the hood is for.”
The engines whined as the jet came in and turned, pivoting along it’s axis as it landed on the designated spot.
Good luck. The Emjet will remain here in stealth mode for as long as possible. If you do fail to return in time, or if you cannot make it back to this location—
“Epic, I can get in and out of any country, or place, I need to. Thank you for worrying, but you don’t have too,” I said as I slung my pack over my shoulder.
He opened the side door. It slid up into the ceiling and a blast of cold air ruffled my hair. I pulled the hood up from the coat and my face mask. Sure, it was my costume, but no one in Russia knew who the Wraith was, so what did it matter? I just looked like another person trying to escape the endless cold.
I stuck my head out the door and looked down. We were fifty feet off the ground, balanced on a decorative rock outcropping. In the middle of the moonless night, the jet was nearly invisible, just a black splotch against a black sky.
Which meant I had six hours to pull my job. Six hours to find an address in a foreign city where I didn’t know anyone or speak the language.
Piece of cake.
CHAPTER 17
Vladivostok was a curious mix of old world and new. Walking the streets, there were places that looked like they were out of a cold war documentary. Then I would turn a corner and a completely modern shopping center would appear, with every American name brand store I could think of.
The city was on a peninsula, connected to the mainland by a massive span bridge. I had no idea how many people lived here, but it reminded me a lot of San Fransisco. Even in the middle of the night there was plenty of activity. Some of it was even legal.
I followed the map on my cell phone south from the park to the downtown core. The location of the building I was looking for was out on the peninsula. Only three miles as the crow flew, but in the freezing cold that was too far.
“I need a ride,” I said to Spice who I knew was listening.
“Call an Uber,” she replied from behind me. I didn’t bother looking.
“They have more important things to do. Besides, I have a really good idea,” I said. The downtown area was nice, but it pushed right up against the docks; I didn’t know a port city in the world that didn’t have a ton of crime. I tucked my hands deep in my pockets and started walking.
I broke into a jog to stave off the freezing air. There was only so much my fancy new suit could do and I simply didn’t have the body weight or fat content to stay warm for long.
Also, I knew Spice wouldn’t warm me up out of the kindness of her heart. Maybe if I was dying. Maybe...
Five minutes later I found what I was looking for—a row of seedy bars just beyond the docks. Close enough that a sailor could walk to them, but far enough away that the harbor police would leave them alone.
Perfect.
I walked past the first one. It was too nice. The second was perfect. Loud heavy metal music came from inside and there were plenty of motorcycles parked outside; some of them were worth more than most cars.
I ducked inside and moved to the right of the door into a shadow to examine the place before I made my move. It was dark, smoke filled, and full. Half the lights in the place didn’t work and the other half were dirty. Maybe thirty men and ten women were in the place. Most were drinking but the women all looked like the working kind. Low cut tops, short shorts, and ve
ry little of anything else except skin. Lot’s of skin.
This was the place.
“What’s your plan?” Spice asked. She had a greedy look of anticipation in her eyes.
“I’m going to speak to one of these girls until her pimp shows up. Then he will kindly give us his vehicle and we will finish the job.”
She let out a sharp laugh. “Kindly, huh? I can’t wait. Just because I’m feeling generous... and anticipating the night... here.”
Suddenly, the sounds in the bar shifted. No longer were they arguing in barely intelligible sounds, but English. I had to force my mouth closed.
“How?”
“I inhabited a Russian man a long time ago. Damn if he wasn’t awesome. He really took to the killing. Ahh Rasputin, my old friend. I haven’t thought of him in years.”
She vanished a moment later but hearing English didn’t. Would I speak Russian? There was only one way to find out.
I walked through to the bar and ordered a beer, which I apparently did in Russian, because he pulled a glass out and filled it with a tap labeled, “Baltika Dark.”
He slid the beer over to me. “One-hundred,” he said. I assumed he meant what ever currency they used. While I understood the words, I dind’t understand all the meaning. I really had no idea how things worked in Russia. I pulled a US fiver from my pocket and gave it to him. He went to make change and I held my hand up. “Keep it,” I said. The huge smile on his face told me I did the right thing. I was glad, because after I trashed his bar he was less likely to be happy with me.
I took a sip of the brew, a thick, dark, tasty drink. I could have had a few more of those, but that wasn’t what tonight was about.
Looking around the room from under my hood I scanned the likely targets. Most of the girls were engaged, sitting on laps or dancing to the crappy music. One was over in the corner and she looked like she would rather be anywhere than here. Not that I had any doubt about all of these girls. They had the smiles and friendly demeanor, but also something more. Fear. They were not here by choice.
The Wraith: Danger Close (Superhero by Night Book 4) Page 10