“It does.”
Victor’s lips squished together. “The only other times we detected the same variance is whenever you and Quinn entered the reactor core at Rangeley. Of course, once your super-powered fight destroyed the control room…we could no longer monitor the situation.”
“I wasn’t in here last night.”
“So, if you weren’t in here…”
“No, stop,” Blake said sharply, surprising himself. He winced at the pain at the back of his head.
Victor frowned and looked at him.
Blake swallowed and noticed he was sweating. “Sorry, but I know what you’re going to say. You think Quinn was in the facility last night. What about the cameras?”
“The camera feeds are clean, but Quinn can become invisible…what you and he apparently can’t stop is the involuntary orgone absorption. However, we can detect it because the variation is outside the normal passive collection range. This serves as a sharp warning to us all; the enemy could be within our gates at any moment.”
Blake shook his head again. “I’d sense him if he were in or near the building—especially since I sensed him out on the Thomas Laighton, which is beyond the facility’s walls and the island’s coastline.”
“You have a point, but if you didn’t return after we left that night, then Quinn was in the facility.” Victor answered, nodding firmly.
“Want me to confront him?”
“No, I’d rather he remains unaware that we detected his presence. The less he knows, the better.”
“Okay.”
“All right, enough of that topic. I have an unusual task I’d like you to do. I want you to go into Boston with Radoslav this coming Saturday.”
The creepy guy? Blake winced. “Radoslav? Why?”
“I suspect the incident yesterday with the prisoner bothered you. Am I right?”
Blake shrugged and played it down. “Yeah, but I’m over it. It’s okay.”
Victor smirked. “Great. I want you to see why we do what we do. He’ll show you another side of life that doesn’t exist in quaint Portsmouth, one you’ve only seen in movies but is very, very real.”
“Uh, okay.” I’ll play another one of your games for now. Radoslav intrigues me and I want to know how he fits into the puzzle.
“One more thing. Where you will be going, Radoslav is not necessarily welcome. The only way I could convince him to agree to this task is the promise I made on your behalf; that you would protect him should anything unpleasant arise.”
“Do you think it will come down to that?” Blake asked, stretching his neck.
Victor looked at him and smiled. “I absolutely do.”
Blake smiled wickedly. “Cool.” Then Saturday can’t come fast enough.
❖
That afternoon, Blake drove down Court Street, wincing when he briefly sensed Quinn in Market Square. He steered his coupe into the Strawberry Banke parking lot and nosed into a spot, careful to leave plenty of room on either side of the car. He stepped out and remote-locked the car behind him as he walked across Marcy Street, sipping a pumpkin spiced latte. He carried a second one in his other hand. It was cold by the river, so he carefully zipped up his jacket without spilling the lattes.
“Nice car. Who’d you steal it from?” a familiar voice asked.
Blake rolled his eyes and ignored Darien. Why does he always seem to catch me when I’m at the park?
“Hey, I’m talking to you!” Darien barked.
“And I’m not talking to you,” Blake retorted, refusing to look at the bully. “You’re lucky I’m in a good mood, or I’d smash your face in right now. Fuck off.”
“Whoa, easy, asshole. Seriously, where’d you get the car? Your parents can’t afford that.”
“What do you know about my parents?” Blake snapped, whipping around with anger. He winced when the constant pain in his head flashed across the back of his skull. Now, it felt like someone stabbing the back of his head with a dull knife.
Darien put his hands up in surrender. “Duh, our dads are drinking buddies. That tells me more than enough.”
Seriously? How did I not know this? Blake snorted and stared at Darien. “At least your parents seem to care about you.”
“Not really,” Darien answered, lowering his hands.
If our parents are friends, then you probably know I ran away.
“You’re different now. You’ve got new clothes, a sweet jacket, that fancy car, and a new, I-don’t-give-a-fuck attitude to go along with it. And, let’s not forget you stopped hanging out with Quinn at school.”
“Awww, Darien, thanks for paying attention to my life. It sounds like you have a crush on me, but I like girls.” Blake responded, smirking.
Darien clutched the phone in his hand tightly. “I do not!”
“Like girls?” Blake added, as if finishing Darien’s incomplete sentence.
“That’s not what I meant and you know it.” His hands tightened into fists.
Blake chuckled. “Why do you care so much about my life all of a sudden? You’ve been nothing but a pain in the ass to Quinn over the past two years and you started treating me like shit this year. Over the past couple of weeks, you’ve been stalking me and conveniently showing up whenever I’m in the park.”
Darien snorted with disgust. “Why do you care about your little faggot friend and…”
“We’re not friends anymore, and don’t call him faggot.” Blake interjected, feeling a tinge of regret in his soul. The pain in his head spasmed again and he groaned a little.
“Oh, that explains a lot.” Darien said as his brain made connections about their fallout. Then, he smiled wickedly and asked, “So, you won’t care if I still pick on him, right?”
“You will not,” Blake hissed. He raised the second latte, and gently swiped at the air between them—but that was a distraction. At the same time, Blake reached out with his mind and smacked Darien’s phone out of his hand. It fell to the ground with a sharp cracking sound.
Darien swore and looked at Blake, his eyes narrowing in anger.
Kill him.
In a flash, Blake pounced on Darien and turned, nailing him in the gut with his elbow, all the while careful not to spill the coffees in his hands.
No, don’t kill him.
With the wind knocked out of him, Darien doubled over and staggered back, glaring at Blake while struggling to stand and breathe, unsure if another attack was coming.
Blake stood tall, squared off his shoulders, and leaned forward. “If you ever threaten me, Quinn, Keegan, or anyone else at school, I’ll make sure you suffer. Your phone won’t be the only thing that’s broken. Understand?”
“You’re an asshole, Blake!”
Blake coiled his arm back, threatening to strike with the pumpkin spice latte.
“Fine, fine!” Darien wheezed, raising an arm to protect his face while cowering. He eyed the lattes briefly, then lowered his arm when he saw Blake back off.
Blake relaxed, satisfied with his victory. “And stop following me. Tell your dad to tell Ralph I’m fine.”
Darien grabbed his phone from the ground and then stood up. He frowned and looked at Blake. “What do you mean?”
“It’s obvious to me now that you’re spying on me, Darien. It’s the only logical reason as to why you keep showing up in my life these days.” Blake looked at the phone in Darien’s hand; the plastic case had cracked, but the phone’s glass surface had survived the fall.
Lucky.
“Maybe I just like coming to the park, too.”
“Why?”
Darien hesitated. “Because it’s quiet and no one yells at me. Why do you come here?”
More often than not, for the same reason.
“To think, mostly, and yeah, get away from it all.”
“But you already did that…” Darien said, a tentativeness in his voice.
Blake curiously regarded at Darien, who pocketed his phone and shoved his hands into his jean pockets. Darien sighed an
d confessed. “All right, fine. Yes, your drunk-ass dad put it on my drunk-ass dad to have me spy on you. I know some stuff. Your dad’s pretty pissed you ran away or whatever you did.”
Blake smiled triumphantly. Then, he surprised himself by deciding to test the waters and share a little more than he normally would with Darien. “When the lightning strike hospital bill came in at thirty grand, my dad flipped out and wanted me to drop out of school and work full-time so we could pay it off.”
“That’s insane.”
Blake nodded. “Yeah. Then, my bill was paid by a mysterious donor and my dad still wanted me to pay it off. Naturally, I refused. I knew he’d just buy more booze and drink himself into perpetual oblivion with that kind of extra cash in his hands.”
“Wow,” Darien said, studying him. “My dad hasn’t said anything that stupid to me.”
“Then you’re ten times luckier than me.”
“Maybe. So, how do you afford all this new stuff? You didn’t rob a bank, did you?”
For the first time, Blake detected curious humor in Darien’s otherwise always offensively defensive personality.
Blake chuckled. “No, I didn’t rob a bank. I just…got lucky. It’s complicated.”
“Uh-huh.”
“I have to go, Darien. I’m meeting someone.”
“I don’t see your mysterious friend? The one I bet paid your medical bills.” Darien asked, looking across the park. “I’ve seen you hanging out with him before.”
Blake frowned, unsure of whom Darien was hinting at. “Who?”
“Don’t play dumb. I’ve seen you with him, the creepy-ass black-haired guy who always wears a black suit.”
Blake chuckled. “Um, first off, he’s not creepy, and second, he’s like, um, a big brother.”
“As in the program?”
“Sure,” Blake answered and nodded, hoping it would shut him up.
Then, Darien’s eyes narrowed. “You’re lying. You’re working with the Feds on some crime thing, maybe even Blue Spekter. You saw something, didn’t you? Big Brothers don’t relocate you and buy you fancy BMWs.”
Wow, I thought Quinn and I had crazy imaginations.
Blake rolled his eyes. “I’ll see you later, Darien. Goodbye.”
“Hey, I’m not done talking to you!” Darien shouted, turning several heads in the park. Blake stopped, sighed, and turned back to face Darien, who shoved him. “You think I want to be your fucking babysitter? I’m only doing this because my dad will beat the living shit out of me if I don’t. So, stop being a mysterious little prick and tell me what you’ve been doing.”
End the little puke, once and for all.
Blake stepped forward. “I’m warning you, Darien; back off!”
No, don’t!
“No,” Darien responded by sneering and stepping closer. “Not this time, fuck face.”
“Blake!” Ravone shouted with alarm.
Blake turned to look behind him and Darien seized the moment.
“You’re not good enough for her, you lowlife piece of white trash,” Darien snarled.
“What did you call me?” Blake exclaimed, stunned at Darien’s dark side.
“Enjoy your date, ass wipe.” Darien’s face twisted with rage and his eyebrows pulled down in anger. Then, his hands shot up and slapped the bottoms of the latte cups. They upturned, spilling hot coffee all over Blake’s face. The steaming hot liquid ran down the inside and outside of his leather motorcycle jacket, nearly scalding his face and chest.
Blake screamed in agony and staggered backward, desperately swiping the burning hot liquid from his face. His skin instantly felt itchy as it started healing.
“You son-of-a-bitch!” he roared as his temper snapped and rage coursed through his veins. The lawn at his feet scorched, but no one noticed. He pulled his clenched hands back, ready to pounce. “I’ll fucking kill you!” He inhaled, ready to strike, but then cried out in agony as the pain at the back of his head surged with a strange clicking sound and immobilized him.
What the hell?
“Blake, don’t!” Ravone yelled in panic, stepping between him and Darien, her hands crossed in front of her face. Blake saw Darien and Ravone’s mouths drop open in surprise as he fell, unconscious before he hit the ground.
Moments later, Blake gasped and sucked down a lungful of air, surprising the gawkers around him. They jumped back, startled by his sudden awakening.
“Blake!” Ravone exclaimed, tears running down her face. “Are you okay?”
He blinked at her, unable to respond. His breathing became rapid and shallow and his body shuddered, his fingers and feet twitching uncontrollably like his nervous system was short-circuiting.
“Can’t…breathe…” he managed to whisper.
“Blake, try to relax, you’re in some kind of shock,” Ravone said.
“The ambulance is on its way,” someone said.
“No!” Blake uttered. No hospitals!
“Is he having a seizure?” an older woman asked. “Cushion his head and make sure his airway is clear, but don’t put your fingers in his mouth.”
Blake needed to fill his lungs with air but his spasmodic breathing prevented him from inhaling enough oxygen. He groaned, feeling saliva froth in his mouth. All he saw was Ravone’s worried face jerking around in his disrupted vision.
“Are you a doctor?” Ravone asked, desperation filling her voice. Her voice sounded echoey, or hollow.
“No, but my daughter has seizures…this looks like a seizure to me.” The woman’s voice sounded strange as well.
Whatever…you do…don’t lose control…don’t hurt Ravone…she’s your friend.
“What a loser,” Darien said, his voice echoing in Blake’s head.
How the hell…did you…do this to me?
“You watch your mouth!” the elderly woman snapped. “This young man could be dying and it’s because you slapped his drinks on him. We all saw you. Who do you think would go to prison for murder if he dies?”
“What if he’s in anaphylactic shock?” someone else asked.
“He’s not allergic to coffee,” Ravone shouted.
Blake felt his fingers tense into claws and his toes curled in his shoes. What…is…happening…to me…?
Then, he coughed up air and spat up saliva. His body stopped twitching and relaxed.
The pain…it’s gone…
He inhaled a deep breath, filled with new life, vigor, and raw power.
Something’s different.
After a second and third breath, he sat upright, startling the crowd of gawkers again. Ravone, who had been squatting, fell backward on her buttocks, surprised.
“Take it easy, Blake. The ambulance is almost here.”
I’m different.
He ignored Ravone and looked around, then pushed himself to his feet.
Where the hell is that weasel?
He looked around the crowd but did not see Darien. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw the bully running out of the park toward Marcy Street. He paused on the sidewalk to let a medium-sized dump truck go by before he crossed the street.
Motivated by anger and frustration, Blake grimaced and flicked the fingers of his right hand. Darien flailed his arms and stumbled out into the road in front of the moving truck. Airbrakes groaned and tires screeched as the driver tried to stop the truck, but his efforts were in vain.
The truck collided with Darien and sent him tumbling to the ground. He shouted and landed with a sickening thud. Everyone turned to see what was going on, and people gasped in shock and awe.
“Oh my gosh, Darien got hit by a truck!” Ravone exclaimed, jumping to her feet.
“He deserves it.” Blake stated flatly. And it felt really good to hurt him.
Ravone glared at him.
He looked at his hands and felt raw power, drive, a new feeling of being alive he had never experience before. “The problem with scum like Darien is they never learn. They pretend to be your friend, but in reality, they’l
l never stop being scum.”
“That’s a terrible thing to say,” Ravone snapped at him.
Blake looked at her and shrugged. “It’s terrible because you don’t like it or because it’s true?”
She silently glared at him, fuming behind angry eyes.
“I have to go.” I really enjoyed pushing Darien out there…why didn’t I do that before?
“But, the ambulance is coming for you!” she whined.
Blake smiled. “I’m not the one who needs the ambulance now. I’m fine,” he responded, snapping his fingers and wiggling his eyebrows. “I’ll see you later.” He started to walk away, but Ravone grabbed his arm.
“What about our date in the park?” she asked, hurt and disappointment on her face and in her voice.
Blake sighed and looked her in the eyes. “Look, Ravone, I don’t know what I was thinking when I agreed to this. It’s not gonna happen, okay?” Then, with a flat tone, he added, “You need to get over me.” He turned and walked away from her.
Ravone chased after him, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Blake! What is wrong with you? What happened when you fell down?
“Nothing, I’m fine. I have to go,” he answered, refusing to slow down when she tugged at his arm again.
“I saw your eyes glow orange when you were ready to hit Darien, not to mention you felt really hot. I could feel heat coming from you, Blake!”
An evil grin spread across his face. He rounded on her in anger. “You know what, Ravone? I might have had a tinge of regret about what I just said because maybe, just maybe, I wanted to give us a chance. Now, I see I can’t do that because you’re the nagging girl who will only get in my way. If you tell anyone what you saw, I’ll…” he stopped, surprised at the words that almost came out of his mouth. Whoa, that was almost way too easy to say…
Ravone backed away, shaking her head in disbelief at him. Blake frowned at her and then turned away for the last time and left her alone in the park to cry silently.
❖
Blake shut the door to his Coupe, pressed the start button, and listened as the powerful engine roared to life. A moment later, soft music started playing from the high-fidelity sound system.
He bent his head down and felt the back of his neck with his right hand.
It feels fine.
The Guardians Omnibus Page 51