Rune flashed a toothy, humorless grin. “A rumor? You wish. No one confirmed it, of course. The eggheads never admitted to anything. I figured it out from the questions they asked later.”
Andrey didn’t ask what questions because he could imagine all too well what they were.
“The Covenant thought you were dead, by the way,” Rune went on. “Any idea why?”
With the other man’s inquisitive gaze on him, it took Andrey a moment to piece the answer together. The requiem protocol. Iris didn’t get a signal from me. Those thoughts led to another, speeding his pulse. My helmet.
“I created a dead man’s switch before heading to Trubino, and I haven’t given the signal I’m alive,” he said. “Do you know where my helmet is?”
“We have it, and you’ll get it back when we’re done here. The EU officials want to have a chat with you, by the way. They classified you as a political refugee.”
Andrey stared at the illuminated half of Rune’s face, hoping for a twitch of humor. Nothing. The Swedish hero met his gaze with stoic calm, bushy brows furrowed in anticipation of a response.
“You’re serious,” Andrey concluded. “A political refugee? Really?”
Rune jabbed a thumb at him. “You’re being treated in Brussels, not far from the EU headquarters. As far as Europe is concerned, Russians wanted you dead. It qualifies you as a refugee.”
Andrey pinched the bridge of his nose with two fingers, squeezing hard. “I disagree, but I can see how they reached their conclusion. Does the Covenant know I’m here?”
“Yes, but it wasn’t made public so only a small handful of people know. Wouldn’t want our hospital attacked by the crazies who are after you. No doubt an EU official will be in here breathing down your neck the moment I step out of your room.”
More favors? They’ll have to start cloning me before long. Kathy would approve. The idea of sending one of his clones on a date with Athena’s sidekick was almost amusing.
“Is that why you’re sitting here in the middle of the night?” he asked Rune. “To give me a break? Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate it. But you look like you could use rest yourself.”
The other man shrugged. “No. I told you. I couldn’t sleep before getting answers.”
Andrey sank against the hospital pillows, feeling the pull of gravity. “Do you know what kind of cooperation the EU expects from me? I already agreed to take care of Legion. Has he emerged again?”
“Not a trace. Europe has made the Antithesis the number one priority. I don’t know what they’ll ask of you, but I know what they told me.” There was a meaningful pause. “We’re going to take her out, and we’re cleared to use E-Zero.”
She’s not the Antithesis.
Andrey’s face twisted in disapproval, but he didn’t comment. The same conversation had already taken place when he met Rune’s team a few days ago. If he wanted to change anyone’s minds about the girl, he needed facts. Facts always made a better impression than good intentions.
“Killing her can’t be the solution,” he said.
“We’re not going to kill her. I don’t know how the hell villains got Power Zero. But if they have it, the UNEOA won’t hold back any longer. They’ll freeze her in one of those cryo chambers developed by Uberdoc.”
Not if I find her first.
“And how do you intend to find her?” Andrey asked. “The last time we met, you said you had an idea about how you wanted to do it.”
“I’ve been ordered not to tell you until you’ve convinced our UNEOA liaison of your trustworthiness.”
“Of course.” Andrey coughed into a fist, ridding himself of the lump in his throat. “Thank you,” he said after a tense moment of silence. “For everything.”
Rune nodded. “Better late than never, eh? But I still don’t understand why everyone’s all over you. You’re about as likable as a poison oak, too invested in your tragic hero role to get shit done. It doesn’t suit you, man. Stop trying to get yourself killed.”
Andrey mulled over a reply, but chose to sit straight and extend a hand to the man in the chair. A warm glow rippled over his skin, banishing the shadows from Rune’s face. “I’ll do better, Pär. Wait and see.”
The other hero’s eyebrows raised. “You remember my name? Now there’s a surprise.”
“Yes. I thought you preferred your hero name to remind you why you deal with all the hassle. It’s what you said after the third mug of the Swedish beer you love so much.”
Rune’s frown transformed into a grin. “You cheeky bastard. Had me thinking you drowned your brain in a bottle of vodka.” He gripped Andrey’s hand and squeezed it a little harder than necessary.
Andrey returned the favor, and they stared at one another in shared silence, keeping their fingers locked together as the glow of Andrey’s hand flickered across their features.
“Keep it up, and I might actually call you friend,” Rune said. “I’ll remind you of Nadia every time you pull the tragic hero bullshit.”
Andrey returned a nod. “Please do.”
Rune tightened his grip before pulling his hand back, his fingers digging into his flannel shirt’s front pocket. “Since you’re so agreeable, maybe you will explain this to me.”
Andrey’s pulse sped up as he looked at the phone in his hand. It was a painfully familiar, stark white phone with a gold rim that glistened in the glow of his light. He cursed at himself for not thinking about it sooner. It would have been easy to lie about it, but he was never good at lying and it wasn’t an option he wanted to take. Especially after shaking hands and promising to make amends.
I could get executed by the Covenant for this. Or I could earn Rune’s trust by filling him in about what’s going on.
“Did anyone check it for bugs and tracers?” Andrey asked.
Rune cocked his head, eyeing the phone as disdainfully as though he was looking at a dead insect. “After a very interesting call I received about it … yes, we did. It’s clean.”
“Who called?”
“I’m not sure. You tell me.”
Andrey took a second to compose himself before answering. “When the Conglomerate took my family hostage, I was given the option to accept the phone and play along or accept the death of someone I care about.”
“Play along how?”
“By not interfering with the Conglomerate whenever I receive a call ordering me not to get involved.”
Rune clucked his tongue, but his expression remained neutral, impassive. “Do they know where your family is now?”
“Most likely, yes. Even if we disregard Data, Gentleman gloated about having the Visionary who inherited Queenie’s powers. One of my sources confirmed both of the eligible new transitions were kidnapped along with their families.”
“Hmm.” Rune tossed the phone onto Andrey’s bed, straightening. “I see. It might be best if we keep this between the two of us for now.”
“Thanks. I appreciate it.” Andrey let relief clear his head before asking the next question. “Care to tell me anything else about the call you received on the white phone?”
“A ‘friend’ of yours, inquiring about your well-being. He was disappointed to hear my voice instead of yours. After I told him you were alive, he disconnected the call.” Rune flashed a toothy grin. “We got suspicious when the call didn’t leave a trace. They left the phone as clean as a baby’s bottom after a diaper change.”
“Data doesn’t break his habits, it seems.”
“No, he doesn’t.” Rune meticulously buttoned his shirt pocket before meeting Andrey’s eyes. “I should get going. Before I do … is there anything you need, Andrey?”
“Yes, actually. I need a recording device for a video I want to distribute to news stations.”
“A public announcement renouncing your tragic hero ways?”
Andrey flashed a wry grin, but dropped it when he didn’t receive one in turn. “No. I need to contact Dancer.”
Once Rune rose to his feet, leaving Andrey’s
glow, his face was shrouded in darkness again and his tone cooled. “Good luck. I’ll bring you something.”
As he passed he gripped Andrey’s shoulder with one strong hand. “Thank you for being honest with me.” The hand dropped away when the Swede made his way to the door on the right side of the room.
“I owe you,” Andrey called after him.
“Damn straight.” Rune glanced back, gripping the door handle. “Get better soon, man. You have your work cut out for you.”
“I’m going to unite the world’s rogues and heroes, starting today with the two of us. It’s what I always wanted to do.”
“Unite the heroes,” Rune echoed. “And while you’re at it, how about you save the world?”
***
Thanks for reading! The series will continue sometime in 2019, more books are already in the works. In the meantime, consider taking a look at the Powered Destinies standalone novel Gift of Light:
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Superluminary Page 79