The Wraith (Superhero by Night Book 1)

by Jeffery H. Haskell

  I reached over and snatched her scarf, wrapping it around my face, covering my nose, mouth, and chin like some kind of fashionista bank robber.

  “What are you doing?” Krisan asked in a hushed whisper.

  “Taking precautions. If he knows it’s me, they’ll send a helluva lot more people here,” I said as I pulled the P-30 out and held it under the table. Millimeter by millimeter I moved my thumb releasing the safety without a sound. Then I pulled the hammer back until it clicked into place. With one round already in the chamber, the pistol was ready for work.

  “We’re going to stand up,” I said to Krisan, “and walk past the bathrooms to the back door, then out to the alley. Once there we turn right, go fifty feet and we’re on the main street. Got it?”

  “Can you say all of that again? I wasn’t paying attention because of the man over there who’s here to kill me!” Her eyes were so wide they dominated her face.

  “What happened to this sort of thing happens all the time?” I asked.

  “It’s one thing for people to threaten to kill you, another for them to show up and try,” she said.

  “Stay calm. You lead the way but I’ll have my hand on your shoulder guiding you, okay?” Joseph and I had drilled that maneuver a hundred times. Guiding a package (that’s what he called them) out of a building with them in front so they couldn’t get a good look at you. “Now… stand up!”

  She did, putting down a few dollars cash on the table and trying to pretend like everything was normal. Her facade slipped a little and she couldn’t help but look over at the man in the white suit.

  He looked back. His sly smile spoke volumes.

  Crap. Crap. Crap.

  “Change of plans. He expects you to go out the back door,” I said. I didn’t really know that, but it felt right. I would do it. He was here to flush her out. Odds were good two guys with stun guns were waiting in the back alley.

  I slipped around the table, keeping my head down, and putting one hand on her back near her neck, pushing her gently toward the front door. I tried to keep her head between us, so he couldn’t get a good look at me. Krisan stumbled and her head dipped, even with me hunched over she went farther than my face.

  Our eyes met. There was no recognition in his. I didn’t like his smile though, it was the kind that said he knew more than me.

  I shoved Krisan forward and whipped the pistol around. As soon as it lined up, I fired. The 9mm rounds were specially designed to fly at subsonic speeds. Low powered so they wouldn’t go through walls, and if I needed to silence them, I could. As I expected his body shimmered and the bullets exploded coffee cups behind him. Someone screamed, others shouted. It was of no consequence to me.

  “Move!” I followed her out the door. It slammed shut behind us and Krisan fumbled with a trash can to block it.

  “He can walk through walls”— I grabbed her arm, pulling her with me as I slid the pistol back into its concealed holster “—that won’t even slow him down and my gun won’t hurt him.” We stepped out into the road. More dragging her than leading, I dodged behind a bus and jogged across multiple lanes to the other sidewalk. If we could catch a bus, we could be ten miles away in fifteen minutes.

  “Madi, he’s coming.” Her voice trembled with fear. I got that she was used to people threatening to kill her, but as we crossed the street I realized this might be the first time she was aware someone was actually trying to at that very moment.

  I glanced behind us. Sure enough, the smiling son-of-a-bitch walked right through traffic, ignoring the blaring horns and screeching tires as cars passed right through him. “Move faster,” I told her as I broke into a run. The sidewalks were crowded and I ended up shoving people out of the way with one arm while dragging Krisan behind me with the other.

  “Aren’t… we… safe… here?” Her heavy breathing broke up her sentences and I strained to hear her.

  “No. He will just kill you and walk away. Unless your super-cops are gonna show, we’re on our own.”

  I decided to head west and pray a bus came so we could hop on and escape. Joseph would be so pissed at me for using the word “hope” as part of a plan. What could I say? I hadn’t planned on coming down here and getting in a firefight. And that was my mistake from the beginning. A moment of perfect clarity fell on me. Never again would I have normal; never again would there be safe. No matter where I was, what condition I was in, or what I thought was going on, I would never be able to let my guard down again.

  Assuming I survived my current predicament intact.

  He was fifty feet away and there still wasn’t a bus coming. I could try pulling someone from a car, but that could take too long…

  He can’t fly… he can only walk on solid surfaces…

  “The building, move!” I pulled her in a ninety-degree turn heading right for the Detroit Free Press building.

  “Won’t we be trapped?”

  “He can’t fly, he can’t levitate, and in the building we can break line-of-sight and lose him.” We scrambled up the steps, through the front doors, and into the lobby. Krisan hit the button on the elevator—but who knew how long it would take to get here. I certainly didn’t want to be in a box he could get into. “Stairs,” I hissed. We took off at a run, slamming through the metal doors and hitting the stairs with as much speed as we could. Poor Krisan wasn’t up for this.

  By the time we hit the third floor she was winded, dripping sweat, and her legs were shaking with strain. “Madi, I can’t keep this up,” she said.

  I nodded. Truth be told, running upstairs wasn’t easy for anyone. I pushed through the third-floor door into a dark level. “What’s in here?”

  “Storage, janitor supplies, that kind of thing. This used to be the editorial floor before we consolidated,” she said.

  The central wing of the DFP building was wide open inside. Lines on the floor marked where walls used to stand, outlines of dust showed former cubicles—now it was just a large open room. There wasn’t anywhere to hide, but there were exits. I dragged her to the elevator. “Call it,” I said pushing her towards the buttons.

  I whipped out my cell phone and called Joseph. If we could hold on until he could get here we would be okay.

  “Madi?” Joseph asked as he picked up the phone.

  “Hey, the man who killed my sister is here in Detroit and he’s hunting Krisan, they have us—”

  “You’re with her?” he asked.

  “Yeah, I wanted to warn her—”

  “I told you not to do that,” he said. Joseph never quite expressed anger or other emotions, he always had a calm reserve that was unnerving at best of times. This was one of those times.

  “Right, but I thought she should know but now it looks like they’re trying to take her out in broad daylight,” I told him. Stepping back, I checked the stairs; no activity. The elevator dinged like a bell at church. We piled in and she hit the top floor button. The doors slid shut and we both breathed a sigh of relief. “Can you come pick us up? I’ve lost him for now, but if it was me, I’d have this place crawling with goons.”

  I heard him sigh over the phone. “Madisun,”—uh oh —”did it occur to you he’s trying to draw me out? He’s trying to lure me into a situation he controls as to take me out. He may or may not kill the reporter, but that isn’t his plan. I’m sorry, it’s up to you to escape.”

  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I looked at the phone like it was a snake. “Is this a joke? Are you going to let them kill me?”

  “If you’re the woman I think you are, you’ll be fine.”

  “And Krisan?” I looked at her when I said her name. She looked back with dread building on her face.

  “Probably not.”

  “I’m not leaving her,” I said.

  “Then you’ll die and all your training and sacrifice will be for not. Your sister will go unavenged and the reporter will die anyway. Your only real option is to ditch her and escape. I hope you make the right decision.”

&n
bsp; “I’m not leaving her to die, Joseph, if I do that I’m no better than the bastards who are chasing us.” I didn’t wait for him to respond. I killed the call and stuffed the phone back in my pocket.

  “Madi, you’re not going to leave me, are you?” she asked.

  “No, not even a chance.” I dropped the mag out of the H&K into my pocket and slammed home the only other one I had. It left me with about twenty-five rounds total, my tactical blade, and a bad attitude.

  Chapter 23

  The Ghost smiled as he watched the elevator stop at the top floor. He turned to the four men with him. “You two, work your way up the west stairwell and clear every floor on the way up.” He turned to the other two. “You two, take the east stairwell to the top and clear each floor coming down. Don’t screw around—whoever is protecting her has a gun and they know how to use it. If you have a shot, take it.”

  The four men nodded as one. They were hardened criminals all—murderers, rapists, the worst of the worst. He didn’t have to worry about them chickening out, only if they died. Not that he was worried if any of them died. It wasn’t like the Outfit paid out life insurance or something.

  That thought made him chuckle as he watched the four men get to their task. When they were all gone, he took a fourth elevator to the basement. These old buildings had a lot of things in common; one of them was a central electrical panel. The doors opened, and he peeked his head out to make sure no one was waiting. It only took him a minute to find the panel. A key was required to open it, not that he needed one. He stuck his hand through the panel and flipped all the switches to the off position. Then he locked the elevators to the bottom floor. He had men with sniper rifles stationed outside; there was no escape here. If the African woman with the reporter was The Wraith, then she was dead. Though, he found it impossible to believe a mere woman could be the Wraith. After all, he wasn’t afraid of any woman. Only men, and not many of those.

  He shook his head. No, she was likely an agent of the Wraith. Still, there was something about her that nagged at his mind. He put the thought aside and checked his phone to make sure the snipers were in place. Once it was, he made his way to the stairs to start his long march to the 14th floor.

  ◆◆◆

  Joseph snarled as he paced back and forth. He was a fool. He should never have taken her in, never trained her. Worst of all, he should never have let himself grow fond of her. It clouded the judgment and made the mind do stupid things. But dammit, he liked her. She was persistent, stubborn, and she took to the training like she was born to it.

  You know you have to save her. You don’t have much time anyway.

  The voice in his head, the one that wasn’t his own, reminded him. The shadow inside Joseph warred with his self-preservation. He had known this moment was coming, he’d known it for almost a year. The Wraith might be an annoying pain in his ass, but he was right. Joseph’s body was failing, faster and faster as the days went by. He hadn’t told Madi the truth about himself because, deep down, he’d hoped she would change her mind before he had to. She was young, she could go about her life, find someone else to love. But no… she was fixated on making the people who killed her sister pay… exactly the kind of person the Wraith needed.

  Joseph looked in the mirror, his hand tracing the lines of his face. When he’d started his crusade thirteen years before, he’d been thirty-five years old; now he looked like he was approaching seventy. Maybe with Madi, it would be different. Maybe with her, she could find a way to avoid the ill-effects of the powers that were killing him.

  None of that would matter if he didn’t save her.

  Decision made, Joseph Li walked into his living room for what he knew was the last time. Facing the mantle with the pictures of his wife and girls he sighed. Part of him was glad this was finally happening. Maybe, just maybe he would see them again. Regardless of what happened next, the pain that lived with him every day, the pain of losing them before his very eyes, would go away.

  He pushed the picture in the center, the largest one, back until it touched the wall. The floor shook as the secret lift lowered him into the basement that was five times as large as his house. Here was where he stored his equipment. As the lift lowered, the floor above him closed and an exact replica of the section he stood on slid into place.

  The lift came to a stop and the motion lights triggered. The armory lit first, with the hundreds of guns he’d collected over the years, along with enough ammo to fight a small war. Then the costume he hadn’t even looked at in three years lit up. A black trench coat, black tactical pants and shirt, and a matching skull cap. The only ounce of color he had on the costume was the tactical mask that looked like the bottom mandible of a human skeleton. It never failed to scare the crap out of anyone who saw him.

  He walked past the pallet loaded five feet high with cash and went right to the costume. It was time to put it on— one last time.

  Chapter 24

  Of course, they shut the lights off.

  Half the floors in the building were empty, and with the power out, the rest would soon be. I swore under my breath. This day was one disaster after another and it wasn’t even four yet.

  We were on the thirteenth floor on the south side, overlooking the lower wings that were only six stories tall. If I had to guess, he had men coming up the stairs and down from the top.

  I was such an idiot. I should have stayed on the street. I felt like I had played right into his hand every step of the way. Here I was, thinking I had prepared for anything… Why? Because I had killed a couple of thugs… from behind… at night… when they didn’t even know I was there? No wonder Joseph was constantly was telling me to be prepared, to only fight on my terms. This was out of hand and could end with both of us dead.

  “Maybe you could climb down—if we broke the window?” Krisan asked. I wasn’t about to leave her. Even if I could, which I don’t think I could, I would never be able to carry her, not even on my best day. I was strong, but I was no superhero.

  “I’m not leaving you,” I said. I could hear the men charging up the stairs, from the sound of their boots on the metal steps I only had a few seconds. Time to go on the offense.

  I took a deep breath; I didn’t want to die today, but if I was going to go out, I was going out swinging. I holstered my gun, saving it for when things got serious. I reached down and pulled the tactical knife from my ankle, flipping it back so the blade ran parallel to my wrist. I waited for the sound from the stairwell to grow until I thought they were about to open the door— I ran. My legs pumped furiously as I put everything I had into it.

  The door opened and I leaped, knees first. One-hundred and sixty pounds of rage and fury slammed into the first man’s chest. I had the presence of mind to slice my blade across his throat as we both came down. He gurgled as his life’s blood sprayed over the second man. Who, unfortunately for him, closed his eyes when the blood hit his face. I spun around, slashing his thighs, then his stomach on the backswing. Dropping backward, I slammed both of my feet into his gut sending him tumbling down the metal stairs, screaming as he fell.

  I jumped up and looked down the center of the stairwell for any sign of more bad guys. Bullets whizzed by my head and ricocheted off the ceiling and rails. I ducked back, but not quick enough. A spark lit up my vision followed by pain lancing through my abdomen. I stumbled back and out the door, clasping my side as I pushed it shut with my foot. It looked like it just grazed me—stung like hell though.

  “Can we go down that way?” Krisan asked.

  “Nope.” I looked around for an escape route… but there really wasn’t one. Unless… subterfuge and trickery. A slow grin spread across my face like a snake in the water. Krisan couldn’t see it through the scarf but she could see it in my eyes.

  “What are you thinking?” she asked.

  I pointed at the stack of folding tables against the wall. “Put two of those flat on the floor against…” I looked for the right place, “…that window.” The wa
ll in question overlooked the wing that jutted out from the sixth floor. The floor to ceiling windows would be perfect for what I was going to try.

  Like most abandoned offices, there were stores of supplies here, including cleaning grade vinegar and bleach. I grabbed both, along with a half used roll of duct tape, and threw them in an empty five-gallon bucket. I just needed one more thing. This floor had a little kitchenette, and mostly it looked cleaned out. I opened the fridge; sure enough, it was empty, but some kind soul had left a box of baking soda inside to keep it from smelling.

  Awesome. Thank you so much for the chemistry lessons, Joseph!

  I ran as fast as I could back to the window, taking in big gulps of air to keep my muscles powered. I slid on my knees to a stop next to the tables Krisan had placed face down. I opened the bleach and upended it in the bucket, followed by the vinegar.

  “What are you doing?” she asked.

  “Creating a diversion. Go find me something I can break this window with.” She bolted off toward the pile of office chairs. I tossed the empty bleach and vinegar containers aside and wrapped one strand of duct tape around the lip of the bucket before I taped shut the lid of the baking soda. Once I was sure the box was airtight again, I dropped it in. The lid went on after and pushed it down until I heard the click. The last of the tape went around the whole thing, top to bottom.

  Krisan was back and handed me a chair. I took a few steps back and hurled it at the window. The glass shattered like candy over the adjoining roof. She ran to the edge looking for a way down.