The Gathering

by Michael Carroll

  “What if the bullet has punctured her liver or something?”

  “It hasn’t; the liver is up here,” he said, pointing. “There could be some damage to the stomach, the duodenum, the pancreas, maybe the large intestine too. But nothing as serious as the bullet pressing against her spine.”

  “OK,” Colin said. He looked around. “Where’s that paper and pen?”

  Razor handed him a torn sheet of cardboard and a black marker. “This any good?”

  “Thanks.” Colin quickly wrote on the card, then held it up in front of Renata’s face for a few seconds.

  Danny asked, “What did you write?”

  Colin showed him the card: “Dan will operate to remove bullet. When we give signal, turn back to normal.”

  “What?” Danny said. “I can’t do it!”

  “You can move faster than anyone else on this planet, Dan. You are going to do this! You heard what my dad said.”

  “Yeah, but…Col, what if I make a mistake? I might make things worse for her!”

  Warren took out a scalpel from the medical kit and showed it to Danny. “Hold it like this, OK? When you’re cutting, take your time. Don’t go too deep; there’ll be a thin layer of fat under the skin and a strong layer of muscle under that. Slice through the muscle, but be extremely careful not to nick her intestines. Once you’re through, push your index and middle fingers through the bullet-hole. Look…” He pointed at Renata’s stomach. “There’s a straight line down from the hole right to the bullet. If you don’t move everything around too much, you shouldn’t have a problem finding it. Once you have it out, start sewing up the skin. Don’t worry about being too neat with the stitches—this isn’t embroidery. Just make sure that the wound is closed.” He reached into the medical kit again and passed Danny a pair of latex gloves. “Put these on.”

  Danny held up his left arm. “I only need one glove. And I can’t put it on myself.”

  “Sorry, I forgot…Hand out then.” Warren stretched the glove on to Danny’s hand, then passed him the scalpel. “Ready?”

  “No.”

  Colin said, “Yes you are.”

  “Wouldn’t it be better to fly her to the nearest hospital?”

  “You said it yourself, Dan. Renata could be in constant pain. Do it.”

  Danny closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “All right. Give her the signal.”

  Colin stood over Renata and gave her the thumbs-up. Renata’s body shimmered and glistened, and she became human.

  There was a blur and suddenly Danny was crouched beside Renata. “It’s done! Change back!”

  Renata became solid and transparent once more.

  Danny stood and held up the bullet. “That was…intense. I hope to God I didn’t do any damage.”

  It was then that Colin noticed that despite the freezing weather his friend was dripping with sweat, and his hand and arm were covered in blood. “I’m sure you did fine.”

  Warren checked the wound. “Looks good, Danny. Well done!”

  Colin said, “I can hear more helicopters coming.”

  “That’s the air force,” Façade said. “Finally.”

  Colin asked his father, “What about the others? Mina and Josh?”

  “Josh is unconscious, but stable,” Warren said. “Mina…I don’t know what’s wrong with her. She’s breathing fine, her pulse is strong, but we can’t wake her up. All the others woke up quickly enough.”

  “What do you mean? What exactly happened while I was gone?”

  “It’s a long story. We’ve had a hell of a day here.”

  Colin laughed. “You’ve had a hell of a day? Wait till you hear what I’ve been through! I…” He stopped and looked around. “Dad…where’s Solomon?”

  30

  WARREN ACCOMPANIED RENATA, JOSH and Mina in the air force helicopter as they rushed to the hospital. The others were brought to the nearby air force base while the military rounded up the mercenaries at Sakkara.

  The next morning, they were taken to a large conference room on the base, where Joshua Dalton was waiting, his arm in a cast. Next to him stood an old man with four silver stars on his lapels.

  A young soldier handed the old man a clipboard and then took out a digital recorder.

  “Find a seat, settle down,” the old man said. “This meeting will be recorded. I’m General Scott Piers, United States Air Force. As some of you will know, I was in charge of Sakkara until Mr. Dalton took over. I’ve been asked by the president to oversee the investigation into the recent events.” He glanced at the clipboard. “Present: Caroline Wagner, Colin Wagner, Daniel Cooper, Butler Redmond, Garland Lighthouse also known as Razor. Absent: Warren Wagner, Renata Soliz, Hector Thomas Millar also known as Façade, Solomon Cord, and Mina and Yvonne, both last names unknown. Renata Soliz and Mina are currently under medical care. They are being supervised by Mr. Wagner and Mr. Millar.” The general looked at Josh. “That correct, Mr. Dalton?”

  Josh nodded. “It is. Thank you, General.” He looked around at the others. “Before we officially get started, there are a few things you need to know. First, this investigation could take some time. I’m talking weeks or even months. Second, I’ve just heard that Renata’s operation was successful. She’s healing extremely fast and is expected to make a full recovery.” He glanced at Danny. “Well done. The chief surgeon said you did a lousy job but somehow still managed to save her life.”

  Danny grinned at that.

  Josh continued. “Third, there’s no change in Mina’s condition. We still don’t know exactly what happened to her. Fourth, all of our actions of the past few days will have to be accounted for in full. What that means is—”

  Colin interrupted him. “Where’s Sol?”

  “We don’t know.”

  “What are you doing to get him back?”

  “Everything we can,” Josh said. “Which to be honest isn’t much right now.”

  “Until we have him back, this isn’t over.”

  The general said, “Colin, isn’t it? Well, listen up, boy…by order of the president of the United States of America, the new heroes are now under my control. You will, therefore, follow the chain of command. You will speak only when permitted.”

  “Permission to speak, General?” Colin asked.

  “Permission denied.”

  “But—”

  “I said permission denied!” the general roared.

  Razor said, “Oh, just let him speak!”

  “That sort of insubordination will not be tolerated under my command!”

  “Yeah? What sort of insubordination do you tolerate, you old fart?”

  General Piers turned to Josh. “This is how you run your operation, Dalton? It’s hardly a surprise that everything fell apart!”

  Colin stood up. “I want to know what’s happened to Solomon Cord’s family, and Danny’s mother and brother.”

  “They’re fine. They’re here on the base,” Josh said. “Façade brought them in this morning.”

  “Has Sol’s family been told that he’s missing?”

  “They know.”

  “I want to see them.”

  “Later,” Josh said. “Colin, please…we have a lot to get through today.” To the general, he said, “Sir, if you leave this with me, I’ll get them to calm down. They’re not used to military protocol.”

  “You have one hour, Dalton,” the general said, then stormed out of the room.

  “I’m not going to be part of a military organization,” Colin said. “Josh, get the others in here.”

  “They’re not involved in the investigation.”

  “Now, Josh.”

  Colin took Alia and Stephanie Cord aside. “We’ll find your father. I don’t know how, and I don’t know when, but we’ll do it.”

  Alia asked, “What about the men who attacked Sakkara? Have they said anything yet?”

  “No. Façade said they’re professionals—it’s going to take a lot to make them talk. From what he can tell, they never me
t Cross themselves.”

  Stephanie said, “I can’t believe Josh is going ahead with this investigation while our dad is still missing!”

  “I know,” Colin said. “I can’t believe that we’re now part of the U.S. military. I never signed up to be a soldier. I don’t like this at all.”

  “Promise me you’ll get Dad back,” Stephanie said.

  “I promise. I don’t know how long it will take, but we will get him back.”

  Stephanie smiled. “If anyone can do it, you can. Dad thinks you’re the coolest kid in the world.”

  “He never stopped talking about you,” Alia said.

  Warren and Façade entered the room, then Josh called out, “Everyone! Come on now! Settle down and let’s get started!”

  Stephanie sat next to Colin and put her hand on his.

  “We lost a lot here today,” Josh said. “But we have some of our enemy’s men in custody, including Dioxin. The biggest threat against us is Yvonne. It seems that she has the same kind of mind-control ability that my brother Max used to have. She was using me to feed information to Victor Cross. I had no idea this was happening. Regardless, I feel that I should step down as leader of Sakkara.”

  “You won’t find any objections here,” Danny muttered.

  Josh ignored that. “Someone needs to take my place. Someone Yvonne can’t control…General Piers’s men have spent the day going over all the security footage from Sakkara. From what we can see, there were only three of us over whom Yvonne was never able to exert any influence: Façade, Renata and Caroline. Renata is too young, so I’m hereby appointing Caroline Wagner to lead the new heroes.”

  “I decline,” Caroline said.

  “Then the only other option is for me to remain,” Josh said.

  “That’s not acceptable,” Colin said. “Façade will lead us.”

  Everyone glanced at Façade.

  “No,” Josh said. “He has a criminal record. He spent eleven years pretending to be Quantum.”

  “When Dioxin threw Solomon out of the helicopter, the StratoTruck was only meters above the ground when we caught him. If the StratoTruck had crashed, I would probably have survived. Façade wouldn’t have. He knew that, but he didn’t hesitate to go after Solomon. Façade gets my vote.”

  “That might make a difference if this was a democracy,” Josh said. “But it’s not. We’re now part of the U.S. military.” He paused. “My own role is going to change somewhat. I have a lot of experience and it would be foolish to throw that away. I will stay on as an adviser.”

  “I don’t like the way this is going,” Colin said.

  “Sakkara’s security is being upgraded. We will be moving back there in a couple of weeks. General Piers is currently arranging for a team of specialists to join us. The details are classified right now, but I can tell you that the team will consist of weapons and security experts, and some former superhumans.”

  “Anyone we know?” Warren asked.

  Before Josh could reply, the door to the conference room burst open and a young soldier rushed in. “Got a priority-one message for someone called Power.”

  “Who?” Josh said.

  “That’s me,” Colin said. “That’s my new superhero name. But I haven’t really told anyone yet…”

  The soldier handed Colin a cell phone. “This was delivered a few minutes ago. The package had the address of this base and your name on it.”

  The phone rang in Colin’s hands. Puzzled, he hit the “answer” button and held the phone up to his ear. “Hello?”

  A man’s voice said, “Colin Wagner, also known as Power?”

  “That’s me.”

  “My name is Victor Cross. Perhaps you remember me?”

  Colin froze. “Where have you taken Solomon Cord?”

  “First, I want you to know that this call cannot be traced, so don’t even bother trying. Second, I have to tell you how impressed I was with the way you defeated Dioxin and his men. It’s a hollow victory though. We got what we were looking for.”

  “Where is he?” Colin yelled.

  “He’s right here beside me. Hold on…” A second later, Colin heard Cord’s voice, weak and obviously in pain. “Colin…I…I know I can trust you to do the right thing, you hear me, son? You do the right thing!”

  “Sol! I don’t—”

  Victor Cross’s voice came back on the line. “All right, Colin. We have Mr. Cord here and a number of civilians. Five people. The mother, father, brother, sister and two-year-old niece of your friend Renata Soliz. I also have a man here with a gun.”

  Colin felt his blood turn cold. He swallowed. “Cross, what are you doing?”

  “Two minutes from now, either Solomon Cord or the civilians will die. You choose who you want to save. Do not ask for anyone else’s help with this decision. If you do not choose, they will all die. The clock is ticking, Colin.”

  Colin looked around the room. Alia and Vienna Cord were staring at him.

  Beside him, Stephanie squeezed his hand.

  I promised them I’d get their father back! I can’t…But Renata’s whole family! No, I’ve never met them. Sol’s my friend, I have to…

  No! This isn’t right! This isn’t fair!

  “Cross, you can’t make me do this!”

  “Life’s full of hard choices, Colin.”

  “You’re bluffing!”

  “Want to bet?”

  “I need more time!” Maybe if I can stall him long enough, Danny could use his superspeed, track them down…

  “Not a chance. Ticktock, ticktock.”

  Oh God, I can’t do this! I can’t save one man and allow five innocent people to die!

  But Sol is a superhero. If I save him, then he’ll probably save hundreds of lives in the years to come.

  No, that’s wrong! That’s just selfish! Renata’s niece is only two years old! I can’t allow her to die!

  “Ten seconds!” Cross said.

  Colin looked toward his parents. I can’t even ask them what I should do!

  And then Solomon Cord’s words came back to him: “You do the right thing!”

  Victor Cross said, “Time’s up. Who’s it going to be, Power? Cord or the civilians?”

  Colin knew that he had no option: “Save the civilians.”

  A single shot rang out, then Cross said, “Solomon Cord is dead.”

  Colin dropped the phone and ran from the room.

  31

  COLIN STOOD OUTSIDE THE BASS’S SOUTH entrance, waiting. Danny and Renata stood next to him.

  Stephanie and Alia Cord, and their mother, waited nearby.

  Stephanie had not spoken to Colin since the phone call.

  In the distance, a small black dot appeared in the sky.

  Vienna Cord walked up to Colin and put her arm around his shoulders. “My husband was very fond of you, Colin. He always said that no matter what happened, he could trust you to make the right choice.”

  Colin nodded and the tears spilled down his cheeks. “I’m so sorry.”

  “You did the only thing you could, Colin. No one blames you.”

  Then Stephanie said softly, “Almost no one.”

  Colin looked at her, but she kept her eyes focused on the approaching helicopter.

  “Your father would have done the same thing, Stephanie,” Mrs. Cord said. “You can’t condemn five people just to save one. No matter who he is.”

  “You promised us!” Stephanie suddenly yelled at Colin. “You promised us you’d get him back!”

  “I’m sorry. I thought…”

  “What? What did you think?”

  “I thought I’d have more time. I didn’t think that Cross would do something like this.”

  “I wish we’d never met you, Colin Wagner! I wish you’d…I wish you’d never found your way to our house! Everything ended for us that day! You came to my dad for help and because of that, because of you, he’s dead!”

  Her mother said, “That’s enough, Stephanie!” She pointed to the helicop
ter that was fast approaching. “That’s your father’s body in that helicopter.”

  A few minutes later, the copter set down in front of the entrance. Warren Wagner jumped out and made his way toward Colin. Behind him, four soldiers lifted out a covered stretcher.

  Warren put his hands on Colin’s shoulders. “Are you OK?”

  “What do you think?” Colin pulled himself free and walked up to the men carrying the stretcher. “Stop!”

  He pulled back the sheet.

  Solomon Cord’s lifeless eyes stared back at him.

  “Good-bye.”

  Colin covered up his friend and watched as the body was carried into the base.

  The following week, the new heroes and their families moved back into Sakkara. The building had been greatly transformed: the roof now housed a large radar dish and an automated rocket launcher on each corner. Uniformed guards were permanently stationed on each floor, and everyone—without exception—was carefully scanned and frisked as they entered the building.

  Renata Soliz and Danny Cooper sat in darkness on the wall that skirted the edge of the roof, trying to ignore the large group of soldiers who were standing nearby.

  “This place is even more like a prison than it was before,” Danny muttered.

  “You’re telling me. My folks are freaking out. They really don’t want to be here. They want to go back to Cleveland.”

  “Like the general said, it’s a matter of national security,” Danny said. “Nothing we can do about that.” He turned at the sound of footsteps and saw Razor approaching.

  The older boy sat on the wall next to Renata. “He’s still in his room.”

  “Has he eaten anything yet?” Renata asked.

  “Not much. He said he doesn’t really need to eat anymore.”

  “Stephanie’s still not talking to him then?” Danny asked.

  Razor shook his head. “Alia’s tried to get her to make peace, but as far as Stephanie’s concerned, Colin is responsible for what happened to Sol.”

  “He didn’t have any other choice.”

  “That’s easy for you to say, Renata. You still have your family. Sol was the closest thing I ever had to a father.”