“Please. The hot spicy stuff.” I turned and stared at the rest of the team. “Let’s get moving, folks. We’ve got a hot date, and I really don’t want to be late.”
“I saw some goggles at the surplus store down the street,” David interjected. “May I suggest if you’re going someplace with sand and gravel that you get some protection?” He shook his head with a grimace as I fought off the urge to snicker. “I mean, some eye protection. You don’t need to go blind in the middle of a fight.”
“I’m on it. I’ll get the ones with dark lenses, double as sunglasses.” Steve lumbered towards the door. He paused, a sheepish look on his face. “We got a tab with them?”
David dug in his pockets. He pulled out his wallet and threw Steve a credit card. “Just sign my name and tell them I said it was fine. Not legal, but I’ve got some sandwiches to make.”
“I’ll be back in a few minutes,” Steve shouted as he ran down the steps.
“Jessie.” Peter got up and walked over to the computer station. “I need a listing of all the animals commonly found in that area. Everything from badgers to yellow jackets.” He rapped his knuckles on the table. “I’ve got some ideas of how to make life miserable for these two.”
Jessie’s fingers flew over the keyboard. “Sure. One second.”
I sat next to Hunter. He held the tablet in one hand, running his fingertips over the small screen with speed and ease. I looked down to see the overhead shot of what used to be a small mining town. His frustration on the roof had turned into professional curiosity and concern. At least I hoped so.
He frowned as he studied the satellite shot. “What made you think of this place? I barely remembered it being on the list of approved training sites. May and I never went there, we were never allowed to.”
“It’s an Alphas-only training town, that’s why none of us thought about it. Mike and I used to go there and train on off days when we were in the area, sneaking in when no one was watching.”
“Alphas-only?” Jessie glanced over, his fingers still tapping away. The man could program nuclear reactors in his sleep. Peter peered over his shoulder as various images popped up on the screen.
“There were places where only the top supers got to train. It wasn’t that they were that good, it was because they had such complicated routines to master. Mike and I, we’d show up and have a short fight, be home for lunch. Remember the six-hour brawl between Ace and Magnificent Milly?”
“Oh, yeah.” Jessie laughed. “That was totally cool. The Brawl in the Mall. Totally trashed the Mall of America.” He nodded at Peter as the images continued. “Keep going?”
“Keep going, thank you.” Peter continued to study the computer screen.
“And totally choreographed, as you now know. But you practice that sort of stuff, those moves, lay it out like a musical or ballet with each routine drilled into them over and over again. And Cherries ’n’ Lemons was one of the spots the elite supers got to play. Practice, then party in Vegas.” I couldn’t keep the bitterness out of my voice. “Carrot and stick.”
“You’re sure that Lamarr never trained there?” Hunter asked.
“I doubt it, given he was even lower on the totem pole than we were. And Rachael, definitely not.”
“But maybe his Guardian did. Or his new friend.” The cautionary tone in his voice brought me out of my giddiness.
“Maybe, maybe not. Given the pauses in our discussion, I’m willing to bet the mystery man might have. Either way, they agreed.” I let out a sigh. “Look, it’s the best we can do with the time we have. And I’m not hearing any alternatives, and we’re running out of time.”
“Hmm.” He nibbled on his bottom lip, tempting me.
“Hmm, what?”
“Sand and gravel surfaces. Great for a natural mattress when you’re practicing your moves and don’t want to spread mats all over the place. Not so great to fight a woman who can spin tornadoes with her hands.” He stared at me. “One good sandstorm and she’ll flay the skin off of you. Leather uniform or not.”
“I’m gambling she won’t.” I reached forward and tapped the open file. “Lamarr’s a thug, no doubt about that. But I don’t get that bloodlust from Rachael’s file. I don’t think she’s the dangerous one of the two. If we can get her apart from Lamarr, out of his domination and control, I think we can talk her down. Lamarr’s going to be too busy trying to toss shit at me to keep an eye on her. He’s going to be gunning for me because I’m a woman and because I called him out. His temper is his biggest weakness.”
“And if you keep your head, it should be easy for you to take him out. In theory.” There was an edge to his voice I hadn’t heard before.
“Are we about to have a fight? Because I need to get my head in the game, and I don’t want to have to worry about this in addition to that whole, you know, survival thing.”
Hunter looked at me with a bit of a smirk. “I’m still waiting for the make-up sex from our last fight. You’re running up quite the tally.” He feigned a yawn. “We’re talking marathon, woman. Better load up on that caffeine. I’m a patient man, but I do have my limits.”
I chuckled. “Get your gear on and head for the roof when you’re ready. Are you okay flying, or do I need Steve to hop you over?”
An expression of horror crossed his face. “Oh, Lordy, fly me over. I’ll suffer the pain, but I can’t suffer the embarrassment again.” He tapped his chest. “I’ll grab the pills, promise. And won’t whimper too much.”
“Okay. Get dressed and I’ll see you upstairs. Hope Steve doesn’t get taken for too much for those damned goggles.” I glanced over at Peter who was still studying images. “Getting some ideas?”
“A lot.” He smiled at me. “This could be interesting.”
“As long as interesting means winning, I agree. Get ready to go as soon as Steve gets back and we get the takeout from David.” A sense of relief washed over me at not having to fight with everyone on the team before the main event.
Still, it was going to be a long flight.
Chapter Nine
We were barely off the ground before I attacked the monster sandwich. The Montreal smoked meat on rye was stacked at least three inches high. Hunter’s left eyebrow rose as he watched me try to maneuver it into my mouth.
“I’m torn between being envious and terrified.”
“Shuf uff.” I wedged the side of the triangle in, my hunger overriding polite eating habits. Plenty of mustard and the other half lay on the paper plate in front of me, a brother in the mini fridge nearby along with four bagels loaded with cream cheese and lox. David had outdone himself. My stomach let out a growl of satisfaction, at least for the moment.
“I’ll get started on the briefing while our beloved leader stuffs her face.” Hunter spun his tablet around and showed the tablet screen to Peter and Steve, who had turned to face us. “We’ll be touching down again in Vegas and then Jo’s flying you to the facility.”
“Are we going to be there in time?” Peter glanced out the window. “Last time it took us almost five hours just to get to Vegas. Then we’re flying with you?”
“Jessie secured a special flight path for us. Let’s just say that we’re cutting corners the FAA wouldn’t approve of.” Hunter tapped the computer image with his finger. “Now, focus. Let’s go over what you can expect to find.”
He drew a deep breath before continuing. “Peter knows this, but just a recap: there’s not a lot of large animals around. It’s mostly sand dunes and small desert creatures. Maybe some coyotes in the nearby forest, but I wouldn’t bet on anything larger than maybe a small puppy, if that. No elephants to save the day, in other words.” He laid the computer screen down on the small flight table in front of him.
“As Jo said, it’s an old town set up for choreographing the Alphas’ fights. Structures are mostly wooden with no basements, so don’t worry about falling into anything below ground level. Walls are made of plywood, easy to break. No actual running water or electricity
, so don’t worry about being shocked other than if you get in Jo’s way. You do have to worry about metal pipes and the like, so keep an eye out for any empty water heaters or bathtubs flying at you.” He studied Peter, a hint of a grin on his lips. “Probably bounce off Steve. Not so much off of you.”
Peter nodded. The serious expression on his face made me sad, as if I’d stolen his childhood. His jaw clenched and I saw the determination in his eyes. He was ready to step up.
I just hoped I wasn’t about to trip him and the rest of the team.
“Best and worst aspect is the ground.” He double-tapped the screen, bringing up a close-up shot of golden sand and grey gravel. “Because of the inevitable falls from training, the ground in and around the town is covered with a mixture of pebbles and sand, meant to cushion any impact. It won’t take away all the pain, but it’s better than slamming into hard soil.”
“Which we did a lot of,” I mumbled around a mouthful of rye. “Mike used to take me there to work on being light on my feet.” I wagged my socked feet in the air. The running shoes sat beside my seat. “Stay light, stay alive.”
No one laughed. I went back to eating.
“The goggles are going to help with Lamarr or Hammond tossing anything at your face, at least temporarily.” Hunter pointed at the small black plastic goggles hanging off each seat. “Try to keep your mouth shut as much as possible. I doubt Outrager’s set up a dental plan yet.”
Mentally I thanked him for not saying anything about having our faces sandblasted. No use pointing out the obvious.
Hunter glanced at me and then down at the image. “I’m assuming you have an attack plan and a reason why you chose this site. Care to share with the rest of the class?”
“A number of reasons.” I grabbed a paper napkin and wiped my mouth. It’s hard to look like a leader with mustard all over your face. “First, I’ve been there and I know the playing field. Second, I have ideas on how to pull this off.”
“Ideas? Or plans?” Hunter asked.
“A bit of both,” I admitted, stretching my long legs out in the aisle. “There’s two of them and three of us.”
“Two tough ones of them,” Peter added.
“No.” I tapped a photo icon on Hunter’s screen. Images of the two rogue supers came up. “He’s the dangerous one. Her, not so much.”
“How do you figure that?” Steve leaned forward. “Seems anyone who can toss my ass around in a tornado would be pretty lethal.”
“She would—if she were fully trained. No battle experience, not even our faked ones.” I looked at Hunter for verification.
He nodded. “She hadn’t even made it to the simulators before it all went bad. Sending her out was a last-minute shot. Anyone who was left got tossed out into the fight. Maybe a minimum of hand-to-hand training, but I doubt she even got that.”
“I don’t think she’s up to killing anyone. Even with Lamarr standing behind her.” I pointed at the mug shot. “Heck, she’s still figuring out what she can do. Las Vegas could have been so much worse if she’d really let loose. We’re talking F-5 twister spinning down the Strip, if the Agency file’s accurate.”
“True,” Steve admitted. “Even with Hunter’s luck it could have been badder.” He frowned at his own bad grammar. “Worse?”
“Enough,” Hunter interrupted. “So what are you going to do? Talk to her? Try to convince her to turn on Lamarr and attack him instead?”
“No. She’s been abused mentally and or physically by that thug, that’s a sure bet. We can’t hope she’ll turn on him, so I’m not counting on that.” I snagged a small bag of chips and ripped it open. “Peter and Steve are going to contain her while I deal with Lamarr, mano a mano. Or womano, if you prefer.”
Four mouths dropped open. One I filled with chips and that was my own.
“But,” Peter protested, “it took all of us last time to just hold Lamarr down. You’re going to take him down alone?”
“Because we weren’t ready,” I mumbled through a mouthful of crumbs. “And you guys were sneaking around trying to hide from me. And there were civilians Lamarr intentionally targeted and we had to save.”
Hunter nodded his agreement. “All things you were never trained for. In retrospect it was amazing how well you all worked together.”
“But this isn’t a game anymore,” Peter said. “Like you said, this is for real. So how do we transition from playing around to serious?” He held up his hand. “And before you say anything about the alien battle I want to point out we weren’t fighting each other. They were aliens.”
“Yes.” I nodded. “But no one held back. No one waited for a Guardian to yell ‘Cut!’ or to back off because the cameras weren’t catching the best angles.” I brushed the crumbs off my lap. “Rachael’s new to this, all of it. Keep that in mind when you and Steve see her. Get her away from Lamarr and appeal to her first. If not, contain and control.”
“And how do you propose we do that?” Steve asked.
I shrugged in response. “Slap her unconscious with a tree branch. Have a bee sting her and see if she’s allergic. Turn on the charm and offer her cabbage rolls.”
“While she’s tossing everything and the kitchen sink at us, or trying to skin us alive.” Peter’s tone bordered on snarky and insubordinate. I couldn’t blame him. The theory sounded great in my mind.
My mind, however, wasn’t going to be taking on Rachael Hammond.
“Look, away from Lamarr she might be more open to negotiation.” I crumpled up the empty chip bag and tried to toss it into a garbage bin. It bounced off and landed in the middle of the aisle. “Remember, she’s been bullied for the better part of a year. First by her classmates then by the Agency and now Lamarr and his silent partner. I bet she doesn’t even know which way is up half the time, never mind what she really wants to do. We’ve got to give her a chance to decide what she wants.” I looked around the small circle, seeing mixed emotions on their faces. “I’m willing to bet she won’t go that extra step to try and kill us. That’s a major emotional decision no one makes lightly. She could have killed in Vegas, she could have tossed Steve and I into a wall, smashed us into the neon signs and electrocuted us. Instead she just let us fall.” Rewarded with shocked looks from the three men as they realized that fact, I continued. “I don’t think she’s got the heart to be a killer.”
“Fair enough. We’ll give her the chance to surrender.” Steve crossed his arms, the huge silver veins bulging out like a topographical roadmap. His leather jacket lay across the back of his chair. “But I reserve the right to crack her head open like a chestnut if it’s her or any of us.” His thick hand shot up before I could reply. “Jo, I can’t let her hurt you or Peter.”
“I understand. As a last resort. And yes, I trust the two of you to make that decision if it comes down to her or us.” I let the last sentence hang in the air. “I don’t want any blood on my hands either, but it has to stop somewhere. If we can’t contain these two, who knows what sort of disasters we’re going to be responding to in a few days. We know Lamarr doesn’t give a shit about civilians. If he gets Hammond to go along with his attacks, we’re looking at a high body count, guaranteed.”
“You’re thinking they won’t get the ransom?” Peter asked.
“I’m thinking they will if we don’t stop them.” I scratched the tip of my nose. “But that might not be enough to contain a bully like Lamarr and whoever’s running the show on that side. Works once, why not keep asking for more money?”
“Not to mention any other supers coming out of the woodwork,” Hunter said. “No offense, Steve, but I can see your old buddy Harris Limox going to the wild side pretty quickly if he can’t make it on his own and sees these two pulling off a successful blackmail scheme.”
Steve pressed his lips together, drawing them into a thin line. He’d known Harris, our ex-team member, before all this had happened, fought alongside him as a supervillain. Harris promised to go straight after it’d been all over, taking May
’s death as a sign to retire from the super business, and he’d done so as far as I knew. But if he saw rogue supers getting millions to not destroy cities…
“I wouldn’t blame him,” Steve said slowly and carefully, “because I’d sure consider it.”
I sucked on my bottom lip, trying not to react.
“Well, at least you’re honest.” Hunter chuckled. “Which makes you even more of a good guy.”
“Oh, sure. Except I still don’t get the girls.” Steve let out a dramatic sigh.
Peter put one arm across Steve’s massive shoulders, mocking his sigh. “I hear you, buddy. Tell you what, I’ll send my extras your way. Play both sides and be greedy, I say.”
We all dissolved into snickers and chortles as Steve’s face went into a variety of contortions, ending with him shrugging off Peter’s arm with a wink.
“Right. Back to business then.” Hunter looked down at the two images on his tablet. “Not to exaggerate the importance of this mission, but if you don’t draw the line in the sand here and shut these rogues down, well…” He shook his head. “Hunting down supers may become a full-time job for the Agency and their kind around the world. Imagine the armed forces in every country with one goal, to find and eliminate each and every super. Be a lot messier than the plugs, but with the same result.”
We fell silent for a minute, each of us working through that horrible scenario in our own minds.
“So we take the girl,” Steve said in a low voice, “and leave you Lamarr. Can you handle him?”
“Sure.” I smiled. “He can toss the ground up, but I can fly over it. I figure I’ll taunt the little bastard away from Rachael and let you two neutralize her.”
“And how are you going to neutralize Lamarr?” Hunter caught my eye, locking me into a staring match. “I think we’re agreed that you’re not going to be able to talk him down, not after last time.” There was a warning tone in his voice signaling another fight if I answered incorrectly.
“Bring up the aerial view of the town again, please.” I waited until the image solidified on the screen. “He’s going to have to work hard to get down through the semi-solid surface to solid rock. That’ll take concentration and time. If he decides to toss the surface crap at us, he’s going to be handling dozens, maybe hundreds of small particles. That’ll cripple him or at least slow him down enough so I can blast him. Even if I end up shooting through a pile of gravel or sand, I’ll still get a piece of him. One shot should be enough to put him down.” I looked at Peter and Steve. “That’s why I need you to focus on Rachael. Last time she kept hitting me with blasts of wind, tossing off my aim. If we split them up, I should have no problem shooting his ass.”
Heroes Without, Monsters Within Page 17