Frostburn (Ultrahumans Book 4)

by Niall Teasdale

  ‘Obviously you’ve no idea what kind of legal team I could put together for him. Fully armoured man with power-assisted muscles attacks a basically normal human, in his own home, with sufficient force to cause a stress-induced Ultrahuman reaction. Jacob figured it would tie everyone up in the courts for months and then you’d spin it like a mad man when you lost.’

  ‘I have some pretty good lawyers myself.’

  ‘I’m sure the wrongful arrest suits pile up.’ Twilight glanced at him again. ‘What’s the matter? Are your fan club numbers suffering because me and Cygnus get better press?’

  Any response was cut off as another voice joined the conversation. ‘Is there a problem here?’

  Twilight turned and smiled, and then frowned. ‘Morning, Jacob. Where’s your suit?’

  Jacob’s glowing, blue eyes looked into Twilight’s black ones. ‘It’s barely above freezing. The forecast says it won’t get above forty-five all day.’

  Twilight opened her mouth to object and Night Shift got in first. ‘What is he doing here? How did he get past the police cordon?’

  ‘I asked them to send him through when he got here,’ Twilight replied. ‘They actually like me.’

  There was a rumble from the speakers, maybe a growl. ‘Where were you last night around… What was the time of death?’

  Twilight rolled her eyes, though it was a little hard to tell. ‘Undetermined. She’s frozen. They can’t exactly take a liver temperature.’

  ‘I was home,’ Jacob said. ‘Alone. No alibi.’

  ‘And you’d agree this looks like what you did to me?’ Night Shift snapped.

  Jacob looked down at the body. ‘Yeah. It does. Of course, I wasn’t paying a lot of attention to details because someone had just broken my hand and was trying his best to hospitalise me.’

  Night Shift, apparently unwilling to learn from his mistakes, reached out and put his hand on Jacob’s shoulder. ‘I’m going to–’ He stopped as Jacob wrapped a hand around his armoured wrist and pushed. There was a whine of servo systems as Night Shift tried to keep his grip, but Jacob just pushed harder. Night Shift’s suit was no match for Jacob’s muscles.

  ‘Next time you try going for an assault charge,’ Jacob said, ‘I’m going to pull you out of that tinplate armour through the neck hole.’ Still holding Night Shift’s wrist, Jacob turned to Twilight. ‘You’ve got a day job to go to. I’ll get what I can from the crime scene people and then I’ve got a few leads I want to run down. I’ll catch you up tonight.’

  Twilight nodded. ‘Sounds good. Are you going to drag him around by the arm or let him have it back?’

  Jacob looked around at Night Shift and frowned. ‘Haven’t decided yet.’

  ~~~

  Jacob sat in his favourite chair, working over the evidence he had been able to collect and that which Andrea had arranged for him to receive from the NMCPD. The UID was being distinctly circumspect about handing anything out to anyone not in the agency, and Jacob was not in the agency as far as they were concerned, even though he was an agent until Friday.

  Thinking about that, his impending dismissal, annoyed him and he tried not to do it. He was being forced out of the agency he had given a lot of years to because of an on-the-job accident, and that was bad enough, but the fact was he was not the first and would not be the last, and prior to it affecting him, Jacob had never seen anything wrong with the policy. The UID had spent thousands, maybe even hundreds of thousands, on training an agent, and now they were tossing that aside because he had become more useful. And it was only the fact that it was affecting him that had really brought the stupidity of the rule home.

  Jacob shuffled papers and attempted to suppress his… guilt was the right word. He was feeling guilty even if changing the minds of a management set determined to keep things as they were was not within his power.

  And there was the nagging doubt that maybe Night Shift was right. Maybe, just maybe, Jacob was the killer. Somehow. No matter how unlikely it was, no matter how much Jacob told himself that the killings had started before he had exhibited any preternatural abilities…

  He flicked up the report Doctor Ultimate had produced on the scene he had analysed. There were a lot of details and most of them were indecipherable without a doctorate in Ultrahuman studies, but Jacob found a section on ‘cosmic energy decay characteristics’ and latched onto it.

  Pushing the earpiece Andrea had given him into his ear, Jacob tapped it on. ‘Denny? Could you possibly get me a connection to the UoU and ask whether Doctor Ultimate could spare me a few minutes for a telephone conference?’

  ‘Of course, Jacob,’ Denny’s soft voice replied. ‘Please hold.’ Jacob listened to silence for a few seconds. Apparently, Denny had not discovered the concept of hold music, and that was something Jacob decided he was not going to mention to her. Ever. ‘Putting you through.’

  Jacob opened his mouth to thank the computer and found himself listening to Doctor Ultimate. ‘Jacob, what can I do for you?’

  ‘Uh, hi, Hugh. I was going over all that data you got for us on the crime scene.’

  ‘Ah yes. And I’m sure it’s largely opaque.’

  ‘Well, yeah, but I found this set of graphs on the pattern of decay in the residual cosmic energy field in the ice…’

  ‘Indeed. A relatively distinct feature of power utilisation. Not unique by any means, and currently inadmissible in any court, even for elimination purposes. The research is insufficient and too new.’

  ‘I’m not really interested in using it to convict someone.’

  There was a short pause. ‘You wish to eliminate yourself from your own investigations.’ It was not a question: Ultimate was quite sure of Jacob’s motivations. ‘I’ll arrange for a wormhole transport for you. It will take some time to get the data and run the analysis.’

  ‘Thanks, Hugh, I–’

  ‘And when we get the analysis, it will indicate that your own powers produce a different decay signature.’

  Jacob smiled thinly. ‘Thanks for the vote of confidence, but I’d like to see numbers proving it. Call it an exercise in thoroughness and it’ll avoid me betraying my macho exterior with a display of insecurity.’

  There was a laugh from the other end of the world. ‘Well, we can’t have that. I’ll see you shortly.’

  Boston, MA.

  The bell over the door of LeFey Coffee jingled out the arrival of a new customer and Audrey Morgan leaned her head out to look through into the shop area. It was early evening, if you went by the clock which said six p.m. and not the sun which suggested midnight, and there were not that many customers. LeFey Coffee did coffee, cake, and pastries, not proper food.

  Audrey’s eyes widened. Pushing through the door with a mid-sized suitcase in one hand was a tall, blonde woman with a huge chest barely concealed by what amounted to a swimsuit with a loincloth attached. Audrey had seen the pictures on ACPN; she knew who this was. The few customers in the room were gawking more or less as Audrey was. When Cygnus took a seat at one of the tables and sat down just like any other customer, the amazement factor just got bigger.

  Straightening her pinafore, Audrey stepped out of the back room and walked over to the table Cygnus had selected, away from the windows but not exactly concealed. ‘Good evening,’ Audrey said, impressed with herself for keeping her voice steady. ‘Welcome to LeFey Coffee. Can I get you anything?’ Just like we get Ultrahuman goddesses walking into the shop every other day! Audrey thought to herself.

  ‘Hello, Mrs Morgan, I’d love a coffee,’ Cygnus said. ‘I’ve been on the move all day.’

  ‘Of course.’

  ‘I’m just waiting for someone…’ Cygnus’s eyes scanned over the display of foodstuffs at the back, and they lit up. ‘Oh, do you have any of that apple pie left? I’m told your apple pie is to die for.’

  Audrey made a slightly strangled noise before managing, ‘Can I get you to write that down to put under the display?’

  ‘Sure. I’ve got some publicity stil
ls in the bag. I’ll sign one for you.’

  ‘Right… I’ll get your pie and coffee.’

  Audrey vanished into the back of the shop and almost immediately the bell jingled again. Cygnus looked around and narrowed her eyes as she saw Andrea walking in.

  ‘You chickened out,’ Cygnus said as Andrea sat down beside her.

  ‘I have no idea what–’ Andrea began.

  ‘You said you’d turn up in costume. Jeans and one of your smarter T-shirts does not constitute any of your costumes.’

  ‘It’s not that I chickened out… I just figured walking into a coffee shop with a sword would–’

  ‘You didn’t want your parents to see the new costume up close.’

  ‘Okay, okay, I chickened out. And I’m being punished for it too. Twi is rolling on the floor having giggling fits.’ Andrea lifted the duffel bag she had with her. ‘I did bring it. I might pluck up the courage later…’

  ‘Uh-huh… Sure.’

  ‘Andrea?’ Audrey had reappeared with a tray and was standing just behind Andrea with an eyebrow raised.

  Andrea turned in her seat. ‘Hi, Mom. Have you met Cygnus?’

  Audrey shook her head and smirked. ‘I think you two should come through into the back. Your father is trying to work out how to come out here to say hello without it looking forced.’

  ‘Do I still get the pie?’ Cygnus asked.

  ‘Of course. I want that endorsement.’

  ~~~

  ‘Andrea undersold it,’ Cygnus said as she pushed her fork through a third helping of delicate pastry and moist apple.

  ‘Well, I didn’t want you to think I was being influenced by being related to the cooks,’ Andrea replied.

  ‘What I want to know,’ Audrey said, ‘is how you can eat like that and keep the figure you’ve got?’

  ‘Cosmic-powered metabolism,’ Cygnus said.

  ‘She has a lot of very energetic sex,’ Andrea countered.

  Cygnus’s cheeks glowed red, but she said, ‘You might be right. Don’t care. This pie is awesome.’

  ‘I’m glad you like it,’ Marcus Morgan said, grinning. ‘How many customers have we got in, Audrey?’

  Audrey shrugged. ‘A couple. Midweek evenings are never very busy.’

  Marcus nodded. ‘I think we should close up early,’ he suggested.

  ‘Oh,’ Cygnus said, ‘you don’t have to do that, Mister Morgan. I–’

  ‘It’s Marcus, and I wouldn’t say no to an early night, so to speak. We don’t get a visit from our daughter that often, and she’s never brought a friend with her.’

  ‘I’ll turn the sign,’ Audrey said, starting for the front of the shop.

  Cygnus pointed her fork at Marcus. ‘You’ll let me pay for the pie then. And if you’ve got one I could take to go, I’ll pay for that too.’

  ‘A whole pie?’ Andrea said. ‘You are going to start putting on weight.’

  ‘Ha! June shouldn’t be left out. Assuming I don’t eat the whole thing in the hotel.’ She frowned. ‘Need to find a hotel…’

  ‘You are not staying in a hotel,’ Marcus stated flatly.

  ‘But–’

  ‘It’s not happening. We have two guest rooms. If you stay, we might get to see Andrea for longer.’

  ‘Oh, I was thinking–’ Andrea began and then stopped under her father’s glare. ‘I was thinking that it would be a great idea for us to stay the night. Don’t be such a meany, Cygnus.’

  ‘Not rising to that,’ Cygnus replied. ‘Got pie. I think you should ask Mrs Morgan about it before–’

  ‘Audrey,’ Audrey said, returning. ‘And I’ll make up the beds while dinner is cooking. It’s just going to be leftovers, I’m afraid. Unless I run out now and–’

  ‘No,’ Cygnus said. ‘Andrea and I can handle the beds, and if you start going to too much trouble over this, I am going to a hotel.’

  ‘Why on Earth didn’t you say you were coming?’ Audrey asked her daughter. ‘I could have made sure we had things in…’

  ‘My fault,’ Cygnus admitted. ‘I’ve been charging around the country getting signatures on calendars and the last set I need is in Boston. But, L.A. took longer than expected and I had to call ahead and reschedule things for tomorrow, and I told Andrea I was going to get here late and she suggested dropping in to meet you. That was about fifteen minutes before I got here. I was over Las Vegas and thinking I was a little far north and–’

  ‘You got from Las Vegas to Boston in fifteen minutes?’ Marcus asked. Oddly, he was not looking especially surprised.

  ‘Uh… Yeah.’ Cygnus turned and grinned at Andrea. ‘Elaine says I’m almost hitting Mach sixteen now. The new configuration did make me faster.’ She turned back to Marcus and added, ‘Of course, I have to get up into the stratosphere before I can go that fast.’

  Andrea shuddered. ‘Don’t say things like that. He’ll want you to take him up there.’

  ‘I think I could be persuaded,’ Audrey said.

  ‘Oh no. It’s scary. She took me down to Florida at Mach God-knows-how-fast. Porting back was much more pleasant.’

  ‘Ah yes,’ Marcus said, ‘the calendar.’ Andrea’s cheeks started heating up. ‘We’ve seen some publicity material for it…’

  ‘I’ve got a few spare copies in the case,’ Cygnus said. ‘I’ll leave one for you.’ Andrea glared at her. ‘And you have to see Andrea’s new Twilight costume. Don’t let her fob you off. She looks amazing in–’

  ‘Don’t make me hurt you, partner,’ Andrea growled.

  ‘I think this might be a very interesting evening,’ Audrey said, smirking. ‘I’ll go see to the last of the customers, and then we can start the gossip fest.’

  ‘I am going to put itching powder in your gusset,’ Andrea muttered to Cygnus as Audrey stepped out, grinning.

  ‘Bring it on, sister,’ Cygnus replied.

  ~~~

  ‘Yeah, he got another one last night,’ Andrea said as she stripped out of her clothes. They had changed the sheets on the beds in the guest rooms, and Andrea was going to change into her costume because her mother had persuaded her to.

  ‘Any new evidence?’ Cygnus asked from her perch on the corner of the bed.

  ‘Nothing much. More of the same. Jacob’s come up with a way to prove to himself that he’s not doing it in his sleep or something. Hugh can measure the decay in residual cosmic energy, or something like that. Apparently it’s distinctive.’

  ‘Jacob’s still worried about that then?’

  Andrea, now naked, pulled her suit from her duffel. ‘Of course.’ She stepped into the suit and began to work it up her legs. ‘Of course, running into Night Shift didn’t help much. The great detective thinks the calendar’s sleazy, by the way.’

  ‘Yeah, well, lord high-and-mighty and go fuck himself. Even your mom said it was tasteful.’

  ‘Dad said he wasn’t sure he should be happy about men seeing his daughter in pictures like that.’

  ‘But he was happy. It’s for a good cause. Anyway, is that your mother’s idea of leftovers? Leftovers in my family used to mean meatloaf. Mom could never cook meatloaf.’

  ‘This is why I don’t eat at home that often. I’d look like Ella the Elephant.’ With her suit smoothed into position, Andrea sat down to pull on her boots. ‘I am going to be so embarrassed.’

  ‘Put your mask on,’ Cygnus suggested. ‘Has Twi even met your parents? They do know about her, right?’

  ‘I explained it, but… No, I’ve never visited them with a mask on, so… You’re right. They’re as much Twi’s parents as mine.’ Andrea grinned. ‘Now she’s panicking. “What if I say something wrong? What if they hate the costume?”’

  ‘You’ll do fine, Twi,’ Cygnus said. ‘Show off the costume and then, if you’re uncomfortable, you can get changed again.’

  Andrea pulled her sword and mask from the duffel. ‘They may as well get the full effect, I guess,’ she said as she stuck her sword in place on her back. ‘Okay, Twi, it’s show time.’ And
she settled her mask in place. ‘…if they… Oh… Well, I guess I’m doing this,’ Twilight said.

  ‘You’ll be fine,’ Cygnus told her. ‘Come on. Let’s go meet your parents.’

  In the lounge, two faces looked up as Cygnus and Twilight walked into the room. Twilight looked nervous and Cygnus decided to break the ice. ‘Marcus, Audrey, I’d like to introduce you to Twilight. I’m told you haven’t actually met her and, frankly, Andrea was too embarrassed to show you her suit, so… Twi?’

  ‘Uh, it’s a pleasure to meet you properly,’ Twilight said. ‘I’m kind of Andrea… but not.’

  ‘As we understand it,’ Marcus said, ‘you have the same memories, the same feelings, and obviously the same body.’

  ‘I, uh, have a slightly more risqué dress sense.’

  Marcus laughed. ‘The same sense of humour, though. As far as I’m concerned, you’re both my daughter.’

  ‘The same,’ Audrey said, and then she made a twirling motion with her finger. Twilight stepped into some clear space and turned on the spot. ‘I wish I could pull off a look like that.’

  ‘So do I,’ Marcus said. Then he rather quickly added, ‘And you could have when you were Andrea’s age, but of course I completely disapprove of my only daughter being seen on the street dressed like that.’

  ‘Good save,’ Cygnus commented.

  ‘I thought so. Sit down, the two of you. We don’t get to talk to heroines too often, or ever. I want tales of your adventures.’

  ‘The submarine,’ Audrey said. ‘Definitely the submarine.’

  Cygnus picked a seat and sat down in it, leaving Twilight to sit beside her mother. ‘Everyone always wants to hear about the submarine…’

  ~~~

  ‘Okay,’ Andrea said, ‘this outfit is actually pretty comfortable to sit around in, but I still think I should go get changed.’ She had been sitting there, chatting happily, for almost an hour after Twilight decided to take her mask off and let Andrea out.

  ‘Yeah,’ Cygnus said, ‘I think I’ll change into something more comfortable too.’

  Andrea, half out of her seat, paused. ‘How far are you changing?’

  ‘All the way,’ Cygnus replied.

  ‘You sure?’