The Negative Man_Twilight Days

by Jeremy Croston

  My breathing slowed from a frantic pace back down to close to normal. Rich was taking Andy to task for being careless, but my mind wandered out of the conversation and back into my work. With everything ready, I turned on the oversized machine and hoped for the best.

  It fired on, which was a small victory in itself. My laptop connected quickly, too. With those two problems no longer a concern, I was left with the arduous process of getting to the good stuff. This would have been a great time to have brought Wilson, my son, along. However, I got the feeling his mother would’ve frowned upon me introducing my doctoral candidate son into criminal activity.

  Though that didn’t stop him from helping The Negative Man a few years back. That was my boy.

  “Wade, got an ETA for us?”

  “Rich, this isn’t hacking into local levels of government. This takes time,” I answered.

  “I know, I know, but we’ve got issues.”

  I looked up from my screen and saw the issue. “What the hell is that thing?”

  Walking slowly out from the shadows was some sort of humanoid being; maybe a man? His dark eyes were sunken in and he looked quite ill. Or at least I thought he was ill until he let out an otherworldly scream.

  “Davy said he wouldn’t bother us,” Erin blustered.

  I didn’t care what this Davy said. I took it he was referring to the president, which was still a mind-blowing moment. This guy was friends with the freaking president. However, now wasn’t the time to be taken aback by that. Andy fired his pistol twice at the creature, only for it to move at superhuman speeds, avoiding the lead projectiles.

  Erin made the horrifying transition into his Titan form. All of his humanity was stripped away as the monster within broke out. He looked at me before succumbing to the metal devil. “Hurry!”

  I didn’t need to be told twice. As hard as it was to get my head out of the encounter about to take place, I forced myself back into my work. The clock was ticking. I started pounding on the keyboard; entering all the codes and script I could to overcome the firewalls in my way. The longer this went on, the worse the sounds coming from behind me were beginning to sound.

  Between the roars of the science experiment gone wrong, Erin’s Titan powers, and gun fire, it was enough to break all but the strongest of wills. However, I was a professional. No firewall had stood up to me, no matter what, and this one was not going to be the exception. I bit down as my fingers fired on the keys harder and faster.

  Then, the breakthrough. “I’m in!” I shouted to anyone who could hear me.

  There were no answers, obviously. I quickly pulled out a USB and began my search through all the thousands of files, looking for the specific one known as Twilight Days. Erin had been warned it was huge and that was no joke. Judging by the size of it when I finally found it, I’d need at least three USBs to download the entire thing. I plugged the first one in and a new countdown began.

  “Wade,” Rich said, a lot closer than expected. “We don’t have all day.”

  “I’m getting the file downloaded as fast as I can,” I told him, sweat beading down my nose.

  Turning around, the creature was morphing around the room as he attacked Erin. “That’s not normal,” I observed, dumbstruck.

  “That’s not its only power, either. So far, he’s used super strength and this weird ability to bend his limbs at the craziest of angles,” Rich told me. “I didn’t know we were signing up for this.”

  I swapped out the first USB for the second. “Do you think Erin can keep him off of us?”

  “God I hope so…”

  Issue #5 – The Lead

  **’Old’ Rich Shock**

  Wade just flipped out the second USB for the third. Not that it would matter; whatever that thing was finally put Erin down. His Titan form was starting to spark; something I’d never seen before. Granted, I didn’t have much experience with Erin in this form. Since joining up with us, he’d been under control the entire time.

  He didn’t look very under control here. “Wade,” I said through gritted teeth.

  “I know man, but there’s not much I can do!”

  Andy, God bless his soul, was still getting shots off from whatever old ass computer equipment he could take cover behind. I knew the big Brit loved a good fight, but I never expected this kind of throw down to ever happen on the clock. But the science experiment from Hell just wasn’t having it. It picked up an old desk and threw it at him. Andy tried to duck out of the way but the desk still clocked him on top of the head. I’m pretty sure it was lights out before he even hit the ground.

  There was just Erin to handle the monster. It picked up another, even larger metal desk and was about to crush him. Erin’s Titan form was beginning to fade away, the man in the shell starting to reappear. However, maybe by luck or by practice, Erin pointed the mounted gun on his left arm at the thing and blasted him in the chest. The desk fell on top of it just as Erin, no longer in his super state, scrambled out of the way.

  He was huffing and puffing hard. “Dude, I don’t even know!”

  He was in shock, no pun on my last name intended. I pulled him over and pushed him down beside Wade. “You, sit here and recoup,” I ordered.

  Erin attempted to complain but I wasn’t having any of it. I pulled out my gun and slowly walked over to the creature lying flat on its back. Was it just me, or did it look more human than it had before? I got a quick answer when it groaned and spoke. “Don’t shoot, please.”

  “Give me a reason why.”

  He was definitely more human-looking. He pushed himself into a sitting position. “The poison they used on me has worn off for now.”

  I slowly lowered my weapon. “Who are you?”

  A smile cracked his downtrodden expression. “You’re the first person to ask me that in a long time. I’m Adam Morales, husband to former Vice President Angela Morales.”

  The moment he said that, I was taken back to Pacific Station during the whole Victory debacle. It seemed like just yesterday that we were all stunned when Adam Morales had been kidnapped in plain sight, right off the very stage his wife was giving a speech on. “I can’t believe you’re alive.”

  “Me either.” He rubbed his head again and got back to his feet. “After all the drugs pumped into me by Victory and then his little lab rat, I should be dead.”

  I looked over and heard Andy moan a bit as he stumbled back to his feet. Okay, good, he was still alive. Turning back to Adam, “You said the poison was out of your system?”

  Wade and Erin joined me as I asked the question; Wade had all three USBs in his hand. “Yeah,” Adam answered. “I don’t really understand it, but there are tubes in my arms and legs that gradually fill with poison. Victory’s little mad scientist injected me with a toxin that transforms my blood into the fuel that powers that monster you just saw.”

  Mother of God! I thought the stuff I heard before this was bad. This freaking took the cake. Erin knew who he was talking about as he gave a name to this mad scientist. “Jeremiah Presley. He’s one evil dude.”

  “And all those files you just downloaded,” Adam said to Wade, “those are all of his. Everything on that computer is Presley’s life work.”

  Andy was back with us, a big old red knot on his head. “Is there anything you can tell us?” I asked.

  “I wish I knew more, just that when it became clear the serum they used on me became too ineffective, Presley turned his attention to something called Twilight Days.”

  So, the president wasn’t lying. “We’ve been hired to steal the last remnant of that program and turn it over to someone who can make sure it stays hidden forever.”

  “Just like I need to.” Adam turned and began walking back into the darkness. “Don’t tell anyone where I am, I can’t be allowed to leave.”

  “Rich, man, he should come with—”

  I held up a hand, stopping Erin from finishing that suggestion. “No, he’s right. Unlike you, he can’t control his transformation. Until
that day comes, this is the safest place for us.” With that, I walked over towards the elevator, to get the hell out of here. “Come on guys, we still have a lot of work to do.”

  Even though I was being tough, I still looked back one last time at Adam Morales as the elevator doors closed. It was a terrible existence for an innocent man. ‘Father,’ I prayed to myself. ‘Bring that man peace and comfort until we can figure a way to bring him back into the light.’

  Issue #6 – The Dead Drop

  **Erin Cieslik**

  Crosby Airfield. Right back to Pacific Station. I couldn’t get away from this place, man! It figured Victory would’ve set up another covert operation out here. With his weird obsession with supers, especially Jericho, this was all adding up in my book. As the sun lowered under the horizon, me, Rich, and Andy ran behind the communication tower to the barricaded door.

  “Comms check,” Wade said in our ears. He was stationed just outside of the airfield in the van. Wade did his best work from behind a computer’s keyboard.

  Rich answer for all of us. “We’re live, Wade. We’re about to breach the security door.”

  This was where Andy came in. He pulled out a set of lock picking tools and went to work. He was concentrating harder than I’d seen him since joining up with these guys, but it paid off. The lock popped and the door was ours for the opening. “Nice, bro.”

  “I used ta break inta my dad’s beer cabinet as a kid. These things aren’t all that difficult.”

  That should’ve been our first clue things were going too easy. After the whole incident at Dungeon Bay, I think we were just all relieved to get in quickly. Rich opened the door which led to an empty hallway. There were some UV lights that were blinking on and off. Even when they were on, they weren’t putting off a lot of light.

  Rich pointed the flashlight down the hall. “This looks like some sort of maintenance entrance.”

  “That makes sense. I doubt Victory would’ve been able to put together a black site from scratch,” Andy pointed out.

  The three of us slowly moved forward. At the end of the hall, there was an old shaft-style elevator that went down into the darkness. This was even worse-looking than the one at Dungeon Bay! Rich pulled back the gate and pushed Andy and I on to the rickety thing. The gate shut behind us and the gears creaked as we descended.

  I was holding on for dear life, man. Sure, I could’ve turned into the Titan and flown out of here, but sometimes I put aside the fact I was some sort of monster. I was just Erin—a scared man who thought he was helping a friend. Sure, Jericho tried to kill me once (and damn near succeeded), but I wasn’t going to let that hang over the memory of the dude. He died saving all of us, something no-one would ever give him credit for.

  When the elevator hit the bottom, it jarred me out of my thoughts. The first thing I noticed was how different the bottom looked compared to the old top. This was where Victory made his stamp. The good Lord only knew how many millions of taxpayer dollars went into this redesign. The bottom levels looked like something straight from a sci-fi movie; stainless steel everywhere and what used to be a very high tech security system in place.

  “Guys,” Andy spoke up. “How the hell are we breaking inta that thing?”

  Oh right, the large vault like door that was imposing its will upon us. “Whoa dudes, that’s one big door.”

  “Erin, I don’t know how we ever got along without your keen observations,” Rich added sarcastically.

  I shrugged it off, that was just Old Rich. Still, there was a huge problem of infiltrating that door. Rich was already talking into his comm, yapping at Wade. “Is there anything you can dig up on what’s down here, Wade?” he asked. “We’re in the blasted dark with a door Andy can’t break into.”

  There was radio silence for a few moments, but when I listened closely, I could hear Wade banging on the keyboards. “There’s nothing with the city about a renovation to the airfield.”

  “I doubt Victory would’ve told the city he was refurbing an area for illegal activities, Wade.” It wasn’t just me that received a healthy dose of snark from Rich. “This is going to be deep. It’s going to be in that file the freaking president had us download.”

  Wade huffed into the comms in annoyance before going back to work. There wasn’t much for us to do except look around. I went over to the far left wall and tried to find something that might give us a clue. Andy was busy admiring the door when Rich came over to where I was. “Listen, no hard feelings about my jab earlier. I don’t like this job, but Jericho was a friend of mine, too.”

  “Funny how a dead son of a bitch can bring us all together, huh?”

  Rich chuckled. “He certainly was a piece of work.”

  Andy yelped – the door was beginning to open. “Dude, how the hell is that happening?”

  It was Wade who answered. “The door was synced up to a Bluetooth frequency. I have to say, this is pretty bad ass tech. Either way, I hacked into the frequency and open sesame.”

  When the door was finished sliding out of our way, we realized we were in for an even bigger problem. A series of lasers shone all across the room—the sort of trap you see in the movies to protect the treasure inside. Rich picked up a rock and tossed it toward one. The solid stone was sliced in half, just like that.

  At the center of the room was a briefcase on a metal platform. Beside it was a computer with what looked like a hand scanner from this distance. That would be something to worry about if and when one of us made it through this deathtrap.

  “I’m not even close to limber enough to navigate that,” I admitted.

  Rich didn’t look too keen on the task either. That only left Andy. “Ahh gents, this looks like a job for yours truly.”

  “Are you sure about this?” Wade asked in our ears.

  Andy ripped the comm out of his ear. “I don’t need his bellyaching while I get through this maze.”

  Issue #7 – The Grab

  **Andy ‘Dos Cervezas’ Harrison**

  This was total shit. Granted, as the only true cat burglar on the team, it was obviously up to me to make my way to the middle and end this bollocks. “Boys,” I called out as I ducked under one of the lasers. “I told ya I was more than just a pretty face and a good fighter.”

  “Andy,” that wet blanket Rich said straight-faced. “Keep your head on you and get to the middle in one piece, please.”

  “You’re such a whiner!”

  Sure, I was having a bit of fun at his expense, but that’s how I handled stressful situations. That and a tall, frosted mug of beer. Man, what I wouldn’t give for a beer. “Rich, ask Wade if he drank all our beer in the van.”

  “Ask him yourself,” he fired back. “Oh wait, you took out your comm.”

  There was no time to tell Rich what a nerd he was being. Carefully, I lifted my leg up to avoid the wait level beam. This was cutting it close to the old family jewels. I put my foot down and lifted the other leg up to join it. Safely over that, I felt the first bead of sweat drop from my forehead and on to my cheek.

  Breathing easier, “Just one more set of lasers ta get through, gents.”

  “Wade, Andy’s almost there. Get ready to hack into the computer on his end.”

  Rich was showing a lot of faith in me by letting me finish this without any more wise remarks. That last set was quite a doozy. One had to properly pick the angle to duck and then contort over. I cursed at myself for letting my curly hair get bushy as I made the move. It was close, but my instincts were on point and I slid into the safe zone with just a touch of scorched hair. That stuff grows back.

  There was no time to celebrate though. I hopped on the computer, which was locked, but was still able to get the IP address. I yelled it over to Rich who relayed the information to Wade. Immediately, I saw the mouse fall under his control remotely and he did his thing.

  Two seconds later, the lasers died, giving Rich and Erin a clear path to join me. Rich handed me my comm, which I shoved back in my ear. “As soon a
s one of you removes that suitcase, the alarms will be blaring,” Wade was in the middle of explaining.

  “What happens when the alarms go off?” Erin asked.

  “Ummm, I’m looking,” Wade tried to reassure us. “Shit guys—you have two minutes after you grab that suitcase to get out of there.”

  Rich’s face formed this half-smirk. “You’re screwing with us, right?”

  “I’m not.” There wasn’t a hint of humor in his voice. “This place is wired to the gills with C-4.”

  Two minutes, accounting for that piece of crap elevator… “We got this, guys.”

  Both Erin and Rich looked at me. I gave Rich the slightest of nods. “Wade, get the van ready to haul ass. We’ll be up in one minute.”

  With a big old smile on my face, I grabbed the suitcase and sure enough, the claxon sounds of the alarms went crazy. I tossed the suitcase to Erin, who went full-on Titan. He blasted out of the room to join Wade up top. Rich and I ran as fast as we could out and to the maintenance shaft. The stupid old thing’s gears ground even worse than before, but we made it in one piece.

  “Thirty seconds,” Rich said as we stepped off.

  That’s when the full-out sprint happened and we broke out into the night with about fifteen seconds to spare. Wade had the door open as we hopped in. Erin was driving and tore off before my feet touched the bottom of the van. As we were ripping down the desert in the middle of the night, Crosby Airfield went up in a fiery explosion, wiping away any evidence of Victory’s secret black site.

  ****

  The next day, President Davy Whisant met us in a covert location outside of Pacific Station. It was along a beach that was close enough to that Dungeon Bay place for comfort. The twilight hour was upon us, fitting because of the name of the file that led us to all of this.

  Rich was holding the suitcase with the rest of us behind him. Whisnant had one person with him, someone he introduced as Mr. Bain. “Gentlemen,” he addressed us. “You have done your country a great service.”