Human Superior

by C. S. Won

  “It’s worse than anything I ever imagined,” Andrea said. “So many people . . . how could someone do a thing like this?”

  “Daniel will answer for his crimes,” Jae said.

  “Daniel?”

  “Daniel Duffy. Morgan Duffy’s son. He’s the bomber.”

  Andrea pulled back in surprise. “How do you know this?”

  Jae explained to her his meetings with Daniel and Morgan, and her surprise shifted into horror and shock.

  “Does that mean Morgan is somehow involved?” Andrea asked.

  “Morgan claims no involvement. He said Daniel is acting independently,” Jae said.

  “We’re in the middle of the most violent father and son slap fight in the history of the world,” Gabe sneered.

  “Why hasn’t Morgan publicly come forward with all this?” Andrea asked.

  “Announcing that your son is a mass-murdering neo-human is not something many people would be willing to do, especially if you’re someone like Morgan Duffy. He’ll never admit to it,” Jae said.

  “Then why hasn’t Daniel said anything?”

  “I don’t know. But Morgan paints it as a blood feud, and we’re paying the price for it. Daniel is lashing out at his father, and he doesn’t care who gets caught in the crossfire.”

  “That’s ridiculous! People are dying! Morgan should have gone to the authorities right away!”

  “I agree, but if he involved the authorities, then word will inevitably get out that his son was responsible, and he can’t have that. The man is married to his reputation. It’s why he wants my help—and my silence—for this.”

  Andrea blinked at him. “Your help? For what?”

  “To set up a meeting with his son. Morgan wants to talk him down from the ledge.”

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Morgan claims Daniel looks up to me, and that he’ll listen to whatever I have to say. If I tell Daniel to meet his father, then he’s confident that he will. I’m skeptical, but—ouch!” Something hard struck Jae in the head. He flinched back, hissing out his pain, and looked at the ground. A rock was next to his feet. “What the hell?”

  “This is your fault!”

  Jae looked up, and saw an older woman standing a few yards away from him.

  “Excuse me?” Jae said.

  “You did this! You’re responsible! Monsters like you! You brought this upon us!” She picked up another rock and flung it, but it fell well short of its target this time, skidding against the pavement.

  “Ma’am, I—”

  “Go away! Get out! We don’t want your kind here anymore! Leave us alone!”

  “Hey, idiot,” Gabe said, standing. “He had nothing to do with this. He was out here trying to help, if you hadn’t noticed.”

  The woman’s eyeballs looked like they were pop out of her head in pure rage. “Help? Help? I didn’t see any help. All I see is a monster! A monster like the rest of his kind!”

  Jae tried to speak, but stopped when she threw another rock, which arced wide left of him.

  “You neo-humans or whatever the hell you’re called can’t be trusted. The police should have rounded all of you up a long time ago and put you out of your misery!”

  A couple of police officers took her by the arms and dragged her away, but she continued to hurl invectives, her voice growing shriller as she was dragged away. A few people, apparently agreeing with the woman, gave Jae the stink eye before disappearing back into the crowd.

  “What was that all about?” Andrea asked.

  “The nerve of these people,” Gabe said. “Ignore that lady, she’s just upset.”

  Jae said nothing. With everything that had happened in the past few weeks, he understood why she felt the way she did. The attacks continued unabated, with seemingly no end in sight. Fear was at an all-time high, and no one knew what to do anymore.

  Jae’s phone rang. Private number. He took the call. “Yes?”

  “Mr. Yeon? It’s Donnelly Stone, Mr. Duffy’s—”

  “I know who you are.”

  “We’ve heard what happened, and Mr. Duffy wants to extend his deepest, sincerest condolences. The city will be in our thoughts and prayers tonight. Mr. Duffy wanted to let you know that he has already earmarked resources, money, and aid to the city, and will continue to also—”

  “Have you found him?” No answer came. Jae repeated the question. “Have you found him?”

  “Yes,” Donnelly said finally.

  “Where?”

  “Daniel is in Atlanta, and has taken residence at the Medical Arts Building.”

  “The Medical . . . ?” Jae took a moment to ponder the name. “Off of Peachtree? Really?” Medical Arts was a decrepit little building, abandoned and unused for an unknown number of years, an absolute eyesore for the city. “He’s hiding in plain sight, then.”

  “It’s temporary, as Daniel likes to shift around, but that’s where he’ll be for the next few days at least. It was clever of him to choose that site as his base of operations. He knows he won’t be found. The authorities wouldn’t even—”

  “I’m in,” Jae said.

  Another pause.

  “When do we start?” Jae asked.

  “Mr. Yeon, in lieu of what’s happened tonight, I would recommend that you sit and think this through before making a decision. Take a couple of days before you give us an answer.”

  Jae peered up at the destruction set before him, at the emptiness left behind by the tower no longer there, at the helicopters that hovered in the skies above, at the surrounding buildings that bore great wounds. He then lowered his gaze at the misery settled on ground-level, at the bleeding, torn bodies that littered the streets, at the people who grieved for the lives lost, their moans and sobs filling the pitch of the night. He looked upon Gabe and Minah, who looked so sullen and drained, and at Andrea who looked shocked and devastated. A new gash had been cut through the heart of Atlanta, and it wept all at once.

  There would be no waiting. It had to be now.

  “I’m in. I won’t waver from that,” Jae said. Whatever Morgan’s true motives were, Jae no longer cared. Daniel had to be stopped, and if cooperating with Morgan was the fastest and easiest way to do so, then so be it. Jae had to take that chance. Whatever the consequences, he’d deal with them later. He had hesitated once already, and it cost him dearly. Hard lessons were learned, and those lessons were costly.

  “Very well. I will let Mr. Duffy know.”

  “How are we going to do this?” Jae asked.

  “There is a parking deck two blocks north of Medical Arts. Tomorrow, at a quarter past midnight, we would like you to meet us on the third level of that parking deck. We will fill you in on the rest of the plan once you arrive.”

  “Why tomorrow? Why not tonight?”

  “Daniel and his group will be on high alert due to the attack. We need to give them at least twenty-four hours to let things have settled down a bit before we make our move.”

  “And you’re sure they won’t leave?”

  “Our man inside said they’re not going anywhere. We have time to move deliberately.”

  “You have an informant inside Daniel’s camp?”

  “Yes.”

  That didn’t surprise Jae. With the resources Morgan had at his disposal, it made sense that he’d have his own man installed in his son’s circle.

  Minah tapped him on the shoulder. “Are you sure about this?”

  Jae muted his phone. “I have to be.”

  “It’s about damn time, I say,” Gabe said.

  “I hope you know what you’re doing,” Minah said.

  Jae unmuted his phone. “Which car will you be in?”

  “Black van. We’ll be the only ones there. You’ll find us,” Donnelly said.

  “Do I need to bring anything?”

  “Only your wits, Mr. Yeon. And a prayer.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  “How is it looking?” Clay asked.

  Jae pulled his phone a
way, looked around the corner of the building, and brought up his binoculars. “The same as it was an hour ago.” He had been camping in an alleyway drenched in darkness for two hours, keeping a close eye on both the Medical Arts Building and the parking deck where he was to meet with Morgan’s group. Thus far nothing had aroused his suspicion. No one wandered out to set up any traps or patrol the surrounding area. No one wandered out period, in fact. The entire street was deserted. He was the only living thing to stir at this late hour.

  “So it looks okay?”

  “As far as I can tell.”

  “Your eyes can only know so much. Stay alert.”

  “I know.” Jae lowered his binoculars. “I hope you’re not angry that I’m doing this.”

  A sigh. “I’m not angry, but I still think Morgan made a tactical decision to call you when he did. He caught you at your most vulnerable, knowing you’d be more agreeable to his plans. You made a critical decision at the worst possible time, in my opinion. You should have at least given it till the morning before you gave an answer.”

  “If you saw what I saw, then there was no way you would have said no.”

  “Maybe.” Another sigh. “Listen, I can’t stop you from doing what you feel is right. If you think this is the best shot at stopping Daniel, then I won’t say otherwise.” The sound of a reclining seat could be heard in the background, and peculiar enough, the muffled tones of another man, or what Jae thought sounded like the voice of another man. The television, maybe?

  Jae looked at his watch. A quarter past midnight beckoned. “I need to go. I’ll call you when I’m finished.”

  “I hope everything works out.”

  Jae ended the call and put the phone in his pocket. He stuffed the binoculars back in his bag, and after another quick check to see if anyone was approaching, rounded the corner. In this stretch of dark nothingness, he was the lone traveler, haunting a part of town long since abandoned. His only companion tonight was the tapping of his own shoes beating against the sidewalk, a deafening drumbeat in the night’s void. No insects chirped, no winds whistled. He was alone, a secluded man on a dangerous mission.

  He followed the path laid out before him by the shimmer of the moon, and in its light he saw remnants of the parking deck emerging in the distance. Just as Donnelly Stone had told him, it was empty. Or rather, it looked empty, the inside washed out in darkness. Beaten and weathered by an untold number of storms, segments of its exterior showed negligence in the form of long, streaking cracks and bruised discoloration, with various graffiti art and signatures marking the entire base of it in wild colors.

  Jae stepped over the toll gate, which was bent and crooked, and found himself submerged in so much obscurity, that he could not discern anything past the tip of his own nose. He resisted the urge to use the flashlight on his phone, figuring it’d be a better idea to keep himself hidden, and traveled alongside the perimeter, brushing his hands against the wall to help guide him to the third level. He fumbled his way around, his feet constantly meeting with an unseen curb or ending up against a dead-end, but once he found the stairs and his eyes began to adjust to their new surroundings, the trek upwards to the third level quickened in pace.

  To say it was a challenge to locate a black van camping out in complete darkness would be an understatement. With nothing to indicate where they were, Jae again had to travel around the perimeter in slow, measured steps, feeling his way through the darkness with outstretched hands, until he eventually found the vehicle nestled in the furthest corner of the garage. The windows were tinted, giving no hint of what lurked inside, but before he could knock on the door it slid open. Pax Logan crouched before him and grinned in his face.

  “So the shrimp actually showed up,” Pax said. “And here I thought you were going to pussy out on us.”

  Jae ignored the jab. “Where’s everyone else?”

  Pax jerked his head to the side. “In here.” He made no attempt to move however, staying where he was.

  “Well, are you going to let me in?” Jae asked.

  “You need to pay a toll first before you can pass this gate, shrimp,” Pax said. Smiling white teeth flashed in the darkness. “Or maybe you think you can force your way in? How about it? Think you’re up for the challenge, mother—” A slap to the back of Pax’s head caused him to flinch. “Ow! What the—?”

  “Seriously, how old are you?” Rena Wally appeared behind Pax. “Move your fat ass, will you? I want to hurry this up and get out of here. I have things to do tonight.”

  Pax sneered, but did as he was told, shifting aside.

  Jae entered the van. Every available inch of every side was lined with monitor screens bright with numbers, texts, diagrams, blueprints, and pictures of Daniel Duffy and his associates. Morgan’s other neo-human, Dmitri Medzin, sat closer to the rear, typing on a laptop, while Donnelly Stone, Morgan’s pet agent, sat in the driver’s seat, also working a laptop attached to the vehicle’s dashboard. Donnelly stood from his seat, crouching low to avoid bumping his head against the ceiling of the van, and shook hands with Jae as he came inside.

  “Glad you could make it, sir,” the agent said.

  “So it’s just us?” Jae asked. The door closed shut behind him.

  “Just as Mr. Duffy said it would be, but it should be enough.”

  “So how are we going to do this?”

  “Ms. Wally will do reconnaissance first.” Donnelly gestured towards Rena, who nodded at Jae. “With her speed, she’ll be able to get in and get out without being detected. Once she comes back, she’ll provide us with a lay of the land, specifically Daniel’s precise location, then we’ll go from there.”

  “A scouting expedition? Can’t your man inside just tell us where Daniel is?”

  “While we have a secure channel with our informant, it’s not something that he can just access whenever he pleases, so communication with him comes and goes. Besides, he’s already done what we needed him to do. It’s up to us to finish it.”

  “Don’t worry, it’s not my first time doing this,” Rena said.

  “How will I get in? I don’t possess super speed,” Jae said.

  “We’re going to place you on the roof. From there, you can either enter through the entrance on the roof, or you can make your way to Daniel’s location via rappel insertion and enter through a window or fire escape. We’ll provide tools to help you get inside either way.”

  “Won’t they have guards on the roof?”

  “You don’t need to worry about them.” Dmitri reached back and pulled out a long, charcoal-coated sniper rifle, then frowned. “I always hated these things. Joyless. Impersonal. Boring. No pleasure to be had when they can’t even see the end coming.”

  “You’re going to kill them?” Jae asked.

  Pax chortled. “It’s loaded with tranquilizer rounds, princess. There ain’t no murder here.”

  Dmitri frowned even deeper. “No delight whatsoever.”

  “Okay . . . so let’s say I manage to get inside and meet Daniel. What if he’s not alone?” Jae asked.

  They all exchanged glances.

  “We have to hope he’s alone,” Donnelly said.

  “You have to hope he’s alone? And what am I supposed to do if he isn’t? Just pretend that all is well with the world, then stroll out of that building with my arm around Daniel’s shoulders like we’re old drinking buddies?”

  “It doesn’t matter how much we plan for this. There’s always going to be an element of improvisation when it comes to field ops. It’s just reality. You’ll have to deal with it as you go,” Donnelly said.

  “Do we at least have a plan B?”

  “Plan B is to hope plan A works,” Pax said.

  Jae couldn’t believe this. Was this really it? It felt as though their strategy was hastily written down on a bar napkin a few hours before. Was this how things were typically done in their world? It seemed so needlessly sloppy. How can the members of an elite PMC unit, with profound knowledge of all things warfa
re, engagement, and tactics go into this in such a poorly thought-out manner? Weren’t these people supposed to be professionals?

  “I’m not comfortable with any of this,” Jae said.

  “Getting cold feet, shrimp?” Pax mocked.

  “I’m changing things up.”

  “Who the hell do you think you are? You’re not changing shit, shrimp.”

  Donnelly raised his hand to induce calm. “What did you have in mind, Mr. Yeon?”

  Pax scowled at the agent but protested no further. He crossed his arms and gave the floor to Jae.

  “I’m going to walk in through the front door,” Jae said. “Then I’m going to ask to speak with Daniel.”

  Rena raised her eyebrows at Jae.

  “Then?” Donnelly prodded.

  “That’s it. That’s my plan,” Jae said.

  Silence, until Pax shattered it with laughter. “You’re kidding me, right? That’s your grand idea?”

  “With all due respect, sir, but I’m not sure if walking in like that is a good idea. They’ll likely kill you on the spot,” Donnelly said.

  “Not if I declare my intentions clearly and honestly,” Jae said.

  “Which will be?”

  “To have a conversation and nothing more.”

  “They’ll want to know how you were able to find them.”

  “I’ll tell them his father sent me. As I said before, I’m going to be honest.”

  Pax rolled his eyes and shook his head, as if this was the dumbest thing he’s ever heard in his life. Maybe he was right.

  “Sir, I—”

  “Let him go,” Pax interrupted the agent. “I want to see how far he can go with this.”

  “Absolutely not,” Donnelly said.

  “Morgan said Daniel would not hurt me, no matter what. If he’s telling the truth, then nothing should happen to me,” Jae said.

  “Daniel may not, but his friends—”

  “Morgan wanted me here for a specific reason, right? Well, this is that specific reason, right now.”

  “What a joke,” Pax said.

  Donnelly looked flustered. “Again, sir—”