“Hello there,” Hunter said. “Feeling better?”
“Much.” I rubbed the back of my head, running my fingers through the long loose hair to pull any tangles out. “How are you doing?”
“Never dispute the power of pain pills.” He held up the small plastic bottle. “And a whole lot of donuts.”
David let out a huff from behind his book.
“So, where do we stand?” I sat in the empty chair, careful not to brush against any of the piles.
“Everywhere and nowhere,” David announced with a scholar’s inflection. “However, your reputation is safe for the time being.”
“My reputation?”
He closed the ebook reader cover with a snap. “We put out a press release saying you let the supers get away because they threatened to kill civilians if you didn’t.” His index finger poked into the air. “Which they did, so it’s not quite a lie. I’m reading up right now on public relations and how to manipulate the media. Quite interesting, really.”
“Still doesn’t solve the main problem, but it’s a good start.” I rubbed at a nasty knot of muscles at the back of my neck. “Any progress on the other areas?”
“Depends on how you look at it.” Hunter pushed a file folder into the center of the table. “We’ve pulled all the data on who Lamarr worked with in the past. He never met Rachael before now. Different bases, different training camps, different everything.”
“So he just trips over the runaway super in the middle of nowhere while running for his life?” The plug scar itched, daring me to scratch it. “After he’s gone to Philly and her to Atlanta? Not likely.”
Hunter nodded. “Didn’t work for me either. But that means there’s possibly a third person out there who’s approaching supers and coordinating these attacks.”
“Another super.” My mouth felt like it was stuffed with cotton.
“It’s just a theory.” Hunter put up his hand. “Don’t get caught up in that right now. It’s not the priority. We have to stay focused on figuring out how to find them and stop them.”
“Right.” He had a point. We couldn’t afford to split our resources any further. “Jessie, you got anything?”
Jessie turned around. “I’ve checked with the various government agencies in charge of monitoring seismic activity and so forth. Nothing strange in Nevada since they spun out of town. Or anyplace else on the West Coast. As far as Rachael goes, she doesn’t make enough of a twister to influence the charts. But we’re trying some new low-level weather monitoring patterns. We might get something there.”
“Which could mean the two of them are either lying low, or coming east to do more damage around here. Like Steve said, the West Coast is set up to deal with earthquakes. No so much the East Coast.” I put my hand up to cover my mouth, stifling a yawn. “Is it too early for lunch?”
David got to his feet. “I’ll order in some pizza from down the street. They know our regular order.” He walked into the kitchenette.
I looked at Hunter. “What do their psych profiles say? Are they likely to follow through with the threat to destroy a city or not?”
He tapped his lips with the edge of one sheet. “I can’t say. Lamarr is a greedy bastard, but he’s not stupid. He knows we’ll be coming after him again and this time we know about Rachael. And you won’t be holding back this time. None of us will. I’d say that on a level playing field the Protectors would have the advantage, not only in numbers but in overall strength. One shot from you and Hammond goes down, one shot from you and Lamarr goes down. And that’s not counting if Steve gets hold of Lamarr or Peter calls in the animal reinforcements. You can’t dodge air attacks from Rachael, but you can stay above the ground and minimize what gets thrown at you from Lamarr.”
“True.” The cotton feeling in my mouth disappeared. “What I can’t figure out is what they want with the money. If they get paid, where do they go? They can’t just walk into a bank in Padunk, Whatever and deposit the money.”
Hunter snorted. “I can think of a dozen crackpot dictators who would take them in as rogue supers, before you add in the cash.” He gestured towards the windows. “There’s various incarnations of the Agency all over the world, you know that. But one constant among them all was an agreement to pull supers out of unstable countries before they could be really used and exploited by power-hungry leaders either to control their own people or to wage war on their neighbors.” He held up a hand, seeing my face. “I read some of the files on the rulers of these countries. Trust me, the plugs were the least-invasive control some of these monsters considered using on their supers. Rogue supers on the run might be able to find a safe haven for a time with these madmen.”
“So they cut and run to some foreign land.” I shook my head. “Then what?”
“Work on taking over the world,” Jessie said with a bit of sarcasm. “Start small with extortion from neighboring nations to not attack, collect the money and use it to pay off other supers and a few mercs to get the ball rolling and build up their army.”
“Until the crackpot in charge gets nervous and throws them out or tries to kill them,” Hunter added. “Resulting in civil war and high civilian casualties, no matter which side wins. Not the best scenario.”
“Or we get sent to take them down,” I said. “So it’s either face them here or deal with a stronger, nastier enemy in the future.”
“Maybe the rogues are working for the Agency and doing this all to get you back under their thumb,” Jessie offered. He stopped, seeing the expression on our faces. “What? I’m just saying.”
“I hear you.” I put up my hand, stopping him. “Just—just hold on.” I closed my eyes and tamped down the oncoming panic attack.
“Outrager couldn’t do this,” Hunter interrupted. “He wouldn’t do this.”
“Why not?” I asked.
“Jo, these supers just won their freedom. What could Outrager and the Agency possibly offer them to make them sign up voluntarily?” His voice washed over me like cool water and a stiff drink. “The only thing I could think of is offering to make them the heroes, the lead team. And considering what they’d have to give up to get that, well…I don’t see it happening.”
The budding panic attack gasped and died. “Good point. And Outrager isn’t that good a poker player. He’d be grinning like a Cheshire cat, dying to tell us what’s going on.”
“Exactly,” Hunter replied. “So let’s not get all wound up on speculating past what we’ve got.”
“Right. What we need are plans to find them and beat them.” I opened my eyes and focused on the files. “Kicking ass and taking names.”
“Kicking ass sounds good.” Hunter stood up and let out a weak cry, clutching one hand to his chest.
“And that’s when you go to bed.” I took his right arm and led him across the floor. “Jessie, David, put your brains on that for a few minutes while I tuck our genius in.”
I wrapped my left hand around his waist as we walked, pulling his right arm across my shoulders. His skin was cool, too cool for my liking. “Pain pills my ass. You need some good time in bed.”
“Your timing sucks,” Hunter mumbled as we neared the hospital bed. “Give me a few minutes to rest. You can be on top if you insist. I’m all about equality.” He groaned as he sat down on the mattress and closed his eyes. A minute later he opened them and peeked at me.
“Still here?”
“I’m not leaving until you’re okay. And I know if I leave now, you’ll be back at work before I get a chance to refresh my tea.” I crossed my arms. “So hoist your ass up on that bed and get comfortable.”
Hunter chuckled but shuffled backwards onto the bed. He winced again as he stretched out and kicked off his shoes.
“That’s what I’m talking about.” I moved to the bottom of the bed and grabbed a blanket. “Do your thinking here and call me if you have something, or just yell for the others. You’ll heal faster this way.” The thick quilt settled over him, the multicolored square
s covering his bare skin. We’d inherited a slew of old quilts from a gracious donor, an older woman who giggled like a teenager when David purred his thanks. They were a thousand times more effective than the surplus military blankets we’d started out with. Springtime in Canada is still pretty cold.
“Maybe a minute or two.” He closed his eyes. “Should have gotten a bigger bed. Easier to share. But this one’s adjustable. Hmm. Possibilities abound.”
“Later. Rest now.” I kissed his forehead and brushed a piece of blond-black hair to one side. He gave a contented hum and relaxed into the covers.
“Hunter okay?” David asked as I returned to the main room. I nodded and sat down again on the sofa.
“I should have left him in the hospital, but I’m still not sure who to trust. I can see the Agency making him disappear in a revenge move.”
“Not out of the realm of possibility.” Jessie ran his fingers through his red hair. “I’m not sure how keen the Agency is about having a turncoat on the team and all.”
“Technically he’s not a turncoat.” I rubbed my eyes. “But I’m sure Outrager would love to have him go away. Which is why he’s not being catered to by lovely giggling nurses.”
The empty donut box lay in front of me. I ran my finger through the powdered sugar in the bottom and popped it into my mouth.
“Pizza should be here in five minutes.” David looked over his glasses at me with a disapproving glare. “I’ve also made a large bowl of salad for those interested in something healthy. I know you burn it all off, but it wouldn’t hurt you to eat some fruits and vegetables beyond the mushrooms on the pizza and the berries in the granola bars.”
“Yes, Mom,” I replied.
He rolled his eyes but said nothing.
Jessie studied the multiple monitors. “What I don’t get is why the Agency files are so dim on how to stop them. You’d have thought they’d build some sort of backup in case the plugs didn’t work.”
“Be glad they didn’t.” I plucked one of Hunter’s files from the tabletop. “Otherwise we wouldn’t be having this conversation. As it is, I think the Agencies, all of them, weren’t looking past prepping for the invasion. I know they were thinking it was years away, maybe a full generation. Guess they figured time was on their side to come up with something better.”
He tapped a pencil against his chin. I was getting dizzy just watching him. “True. I’m thinking more psychological than physical right now.”
I leaned forward. “Keep talking.”
Jessie pointed at the monitor displaying the two supers’ photographs. “He’s an abusive jerk with a bad track record with girls. She’s a bullied young woman. He’s an asshole and she’s just a kid fresh out of school who hadn’t even skipped class before she got beaten up.”
David nodded his agreement. “I think it’s a good bet she’s going along with this more out of fear than any real evil intent.” He looked at me. “We could be wrong, but I think it’s a most dysfunctional relationship set up that way on purpose. But while Lamarr is a nasty sort, I don’t see him being a master planner. Going from assaulting his girlfriend to demanding billions of dollars and world domination is a bit of a large step to take.”
“Back to our mysterious leader,” I grumbled, “who hasn’t shown his face yet.”
“All in good time,” David replied in his best I’ve seen more life than you tone. “Deal with what’s on your plate right now, and you can have more later on. Just like cookies.”
“Speaking of more.” Jessie tapped a key. “Outside camera shows our pizza boy just about to ring the doorbell. It’s Keith, be sure to give him a good tip.”
David snorted as he headed for the stairs. “You don’t have to tell me how much to tip.”
Jessie pressed his lips together and whistled as David moved out of sight. “I have an idea.”
“I’m afraid.”
“No, no. Nothing with chocolate syrup.” He chuckled. “I’ll leave that up to Hunter.”
My face started to burn. “Continue, please.”
“I think you should taunt them,” Jessie said. “Play on Lamarr’s ego. He’s a jerk who loves to think and talk like he’s a tough guy, ’ccording to the files. So play on that. Where he leads, Rachael is going to follow, whether she wants to or not.”
I listened to the creaking wood. “We taunt them?”
Jessie made a drawing motion with his hand, ending with his fingers curled into a fist. “You tease them out of hiding. Las Vegas was their choice of a battleground, this time make it yours. Turn the battlefield to your advantage, play on his superior ’tude and kick his butt. Once he folds I think Rachael will as well.” His cheeks were flushed and his eyes wide with excitement. “They’ll never see it coming.”
“Hmm,” I replied. “Not a bad idea. The only problem is we have to have a plan to defeat them first. Other than asking Lamarr to meet me out in the middle of the ocean, I can’t think of a battleground that won’t be to his advantage.”
Jessie turned back to his monitors. “I’m working on that. Maybe a drilling platform out in the Gulf, or a small island somewhere.” The words turned to a low mumble as he mentally shut me out.
The smell of melted cheese, pepperoni and mushrooms wafted up the stairs, and my mouth started watering. A grunt came from the other side of the dorm followed by stumbling and a curse in a foreign language.
David arrived at the top of the stairs carrying five boxes. “I think we’re one of their best customers.” He wagged a finger at me as he laid the boxes on the table. “Do not touch anything until I at least get the paper plates and napkins. I’ll not have you turn this place into a frat house.”
I sat and pouted. Steve came around the wall, rubbing his eyes and limping.
“Who left those books there?” His bleary gaze darted around the room.
“The ones you took in with you?” Jessie replied.
Steve glared at him with full force. Jessie responded by sticking out his tongue.
“That’s what I get for becoming a good guy and trying to expand my knowledge,” Steve groused before flopping onto the sofa and opening the top box. He attacked a large multicolored triangle and pulled it free, the long stringy cheese holding on for dear life until the last second. With a growl he popped the edge into his mouth and bit down, wrestling the pizza like a dog with a bone.
“Hey,” David erupted as he approached us, carrying a tray filled with plastic utensils and paper plates. Recycling wasn’t a word we used a lot. “Didn’t I make myself clear?”
Steve looked up, his mouth full of pizza, and shrugged.
I snatched up a plate and slid two slices onto it, executing a clean escape just as David tossed a handful of napkins at our resident strongman. Jessie chuckled as he pried himself out of his chair and headed for the table, sidestepping David and snatching a piece out from under Steve’s outstretched hand.
Hunter was sound asleep, a low burbling coming from between his lips. I sat on a metal folding chair beside him and picked up one slice, determined to at least get some eating in before any further discussion. The thick pepperoni slices were greasy and hot, the cheese tongue-burning temperature, the mushrooms slick and buttery. It was glorious. Bad in so many ways, but oh so good.
“Wassat?” he mumbled. His eyelids twitched before flying open, his eyes zooming in on the piping-hot pizza. “Oooh. Gimme.”
“I could have brought you a salad instead. Remember that.” I put the paper plate on his lap, keeping my own slice in hand. “How hungry are you?”
“For you, always.” Hunter laughed. “But this’ll do for now.” He grabbed the flimsy slice, twisting and folding it into a thick narrow triangle before taking a bite. “Any ideas?”
I knew he was talking about our rogue supers but allowed my mind to wander elsewhere before pulling back to reality. “Not really. Jessie thinks we should tease them, bring them out of hiding onto a battleground of our own choosing. Given Lamarr’s attitude it might be easy to do, an
d where he goes, Hammond’s sure to follow.”
“Hmm,” Hunter said between bites. “Not a bad idea. What’s your thoughts?”
“It’s got potential,” I murmured, watching him fumble the remains of the pizza between his fingers. “But it’s going to be difficult finding the right place to brawl. Lamarr knows civilians are our weak spot, and I don’t know if he’s willing to fight somewhere out there in the wilderness. Not to mention figuring out how to stop him from tossing boulders at us.”
“You’ll think of something.” He leaned forward and stole a kiss, leaving my lips coated with tomato sauce. “Just make sure you share with the rest of the class before you start anything. Remember the first rule.”
“Promise,” I replied. “Want me to get you another slice?” I finished the last of my own by popping the crunchy crust edge into my mouth.
“Not right now.” He put one hand to his mouth, covering a yawn. The remains of the slice bobbed in his hand. “Maybe after I get a bit more sleep.”
“Call if you need anything. Now just rest.” I didn’t wait for his snappy response. Instead I walked to the other side of the Lair, following the aroma of melted-cheese heaven.
Steve pushed the empty pizza box to one side and opened the second, taking a deep sniff with a wide smile. “Refill?”
“Just one for now.” I accepted the lone slice on a single plate and sat in the opposite chair. I couldn’t keep up with Steve in speed, but I could match him in amount over time.
“Don’t get too comfortable.” Jessie strode across the room, headed towards the stairs. He beamed as if I’d agreed to do that bikini shot. “Got a delivery coming in that you’ll want to see. And wear.”
I paused in mid-bite and gave Steve a sideways glance. He shook his head, cheeks bulging with pizza crust.
David looked around the corner of the kitchenette, reacting to the sound of Jessie’s heavy feet on the steps. “What, more pizza? Who ordered that? Are we out already?” The sharp tone stung our ears.
Heroes Without, Monsters Within Page 14