Darkest Day (StrikeForce #3)

by Colleen Vanderlinden

  “Who killed Virus?” I asked her before I hit her again.

  She laughed. “Who do you think, bitch? He was past his usefulness. Killjoy wanted hm kept alive, but Maddoc and I decided he was done. Maddoc likes taking care of shit like that. I only wish it was that Daemon prick.”

  I hit her again, just for the hell of it, and watched her neck twist with the impact.

  “Going behind his back again, huh? Isn’t that what broke the two of you up the first time?”

  She stared at me. “He told you that?”

  I laughed. “He told me everything,” I purred. “Everything. Lemme guess. Render was the one you were fucking behind his back, huh? That’s why he’s at your beck and call now.”

  She snarled and charged me, and I knocked her back again.

  “Midnight, now,” I heard Render shout.

  “No! Not yet!” Raider screeched and an instant later, they were both gone.

  But not before I caught a glimpse of Killjoy taking Raider away, using the teleportation powers he’d undoubtedly stolen from either Brianne or Portia. Maybe both. I tried to grab on to Raider, but she was gone, and so was Render. I guessed that “Midnight,” whoever that was, was another teleporter who’d grabbed Render.

  I wanted to scream. Hit something. This was infuriating. There had to be something we could use to prevent those assholes from doing that. They just ran when things got hard, like a bunch of cowardly little shits. Start a fight and then run away when it got too hard. I punched the pillar near where I was standing.

  “Better that than me,” Max said, and I looked over to check on him. He was fully human again.

  “These uniforms are amazing,” he said. “Changed with me, just like they said it would. And here I was worried I’d have my ass out and have to be embarrassed.”

  I let out a low laugh despite my irritation. “I can’t believe they got away,” I muttered. “Well, yeah, I can, because they always do this shit, but…”

  “Hey. We kicked some ass. You learned for sure that Maddoc murdered Virus, and that there’s a bit of a schism in Killjoy’s team. We’re still alive,” he added.

  And we learned that there was something up with Daemon. It had sounded like maybe Raider was looking for him.

  Interesting.

  We started walking out, and I took a deep breath. “I just hate it when they get away.”

  “I hear ya.” He paused. “Render was actually trying to kill us,” he said, sounding a little shocked.

  “That’s what they do.”

  “I knew that but there’s nothing quite like having Render trying to slice you open to make it all feel real.”

  We walked out of the bank, and I tried to settle down. Talking to the police, with the media all standing around with cameras pointed at me, was never my favorite thing. It would’t do to fly off the handle now. I was trying to at least pretend to have my shit together, even if I didn’t actually. Max kept talking.

  “That was fuckin’ amazing though, overall. I mean, I think I may have shit myself a little, but damn,” he was blathering. I shook my head and watched crowd surge forward. “I mean. Two in one day!” Max was still talking.

  “Not bad for a first day,” I told him. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that the record so far had been me and Ryan fighting five people in one day, and actually managing to bring them in. I groaned inwardly. I hadn’t even considered calling for backup. I was probably going to hear about that. The good thing with Ryan, if he was bothered by something, he’d tell me. He didn’t exactly keep stuff like that to himself. If he was pissed, which he likely was, I was going to hear about it and then it would be over with.

  “Daystar! Over here,” I heard one of the reporters call, and I took a deep breath and turned toward the press.

  “Three questions. I need to get back,” I said. I used a little bit of a quieter, deeper voice than usual, partly to limit the chances of anyone connecting Jolene’s voice to Daystar’s, but also because I guess it just fit the reputation I was starting to get.

  “How did Raider get away? You had her cornered in the building,” the reporter asked in a haughty tone that made me kind of want to punch him.

  “As has been the issue several times when dealing with Killjoy’s new team, they were whisked away at the last moment.”

  “They?” one of the reporters shouted.

  “Render was there as well,” I said.

  “So two of you couldn’t take on two villains? You let them get away to cause this damage again another day?” the reporter asked, the rest of the press corps looking between the two of us gleefully, like they were waiting for me to go off on him.

  “We didn’t ‘let’ anyone do anything. Things happen sometimes and we need to find a way to work against the transporters they have on their team. It never fails that they run like the cowards they are the second they start losing. Which is pretty much every time we come up against them. When one of their teleporters isn’t there to take them to hide in whatever hole they crawled out of, we win. As Maddoc and a few of their other people well know,” I added, crossing my arms. This led to a flurry of questions from the press, and I waved at them.

  “That was three,” I said. Then I grabbed Max under his arms and flew him to the mini jet.

  “I already hate the media,” he grunted as I set him down.

  “They grow on you eventually. Like a fungus,” I said. We got in the jet and started circling the city again, patrolling for the rest of our shift. I sat in my seat fuming. There had to be something we could do, some kind of tech we could develop that would keep them from porting out like that. A bigger version of the dampening collars maybe? Except that it would have to affect just their powers, not ours.

  I’d mention it to Jenson and David. They were the brains who could figure out if it could even be done or not.

  We landed at Command a while later, and the flight crew descended on us to do the post-flight check of the jet. I ushered Max up to Portia’s office so we could de-brief her. She listened, and congratulated us on the beat-down, even if we hadn’t managed to take either of them in.

  “Okay. You two have earned the rest of the night off. Excellent work,” Portia said, and I nodded. Max beamed and thanked her.

  “I’m gonna drink til I can’t see,” he said, and I laughed. “Want to join me?”

  I shook my head. “Not this time, thanks. I’m beat.”

  “All right. Your loss,” he said with a grin.

  Max left, and I turned to Portia. “We need to do something about them porting away. This is driving me nuts.”

  “I hear you,” she said, leaning back in her chair.

  “I wonder if there’s some kind of tech Beta can come up with to keep them from doing it. I know he’s already really busy, but—“

  “That’s actually a really good idea. I hadn’t thought of that. I’ll mention it to him. He can test it on me if he can come up with anything,” she said, and I nodded.

  She blew out a breath. “We had a report of another kid going missing. Madison, Wisconsin, this time.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  She shook her head. “A telepath this time.”

  I stared at her. “Those are pretty rare.” We only knew of two, and as far as I was concerned, that was two too many. It made my skin crawl just thinking of someone messing around in my mind.

  “I’m sending Steel and Chance to a meeting with some of the other U.S. super teams. Maybe if we pool our knowledge we can figure something out,” she said tiredly. “This is getting out of hand.”

  “And I don’t think it’s Killjoy. It doesn’t fit.”

  “I don’t either, but at this point I’m not willing to rule anyone out.”

  “Let me know if there’s anything I can do.”

  “I will,” she said, then seemed to be studying me. “You need to take it easy, though. You’re running yourself ragged. How are your ribs holding up?”

  “Fine. She barely touched me. It was
just a lot of threats and other bullshit.”

  “Uh huh. I’m serious, though. You exhausting yourself isn’t going to help anyone.”

  I shrugged. “I feel better when I’m busy. Less time to think that way.”

  She nodded. “I guess I can understand that.” We were quiet for a couple of minutes. “You’re still annoyed with me for switching up your partner,” she said.

  “I understand why. I just don’t adapt to change all that well.”

  “Speaking of which, Caine was a complete pain in the ass earlier. He was ready to go out after you twice and I had to order him to stay put.”

  “Well, it’s a good thing he didn’t know Render was there, then.”

  “Actually, he did. Beta got into the bank’s security feed. We ended up watching a bit of it from here.”

  I grimaced. Yeah, he was probably not happy that I hadn’t called for back up. “Thanks for the warning. I’m going to hear about that.”

  She laughed. “Yeah, probably. Now go get some rest. Don’t let me see you taking anybody else’s patrols tonight. You need to let yourself heal up.”

  “Fine,” I said. I stood up, gave her a wave, and walked out of her office then got on the elevator.

  I considered just going to my room, but then I hit the button for ten instead. I pulled my mask off and ran a hand through my hair, pulled my bangs back down over my forehead. I got off on the tenth floor and went down to the third door on the left, and knocked.

  Chapter Eight

  A second later, the door opened and Ryan wordlessly waved me inside. He was out of uniform, in jeans and a black t-shirt. I could smell coffee wafting from kitchen as soon as he opened the door.

  “Nice job,” he said, going toward the kitchen.

  “Thanks.”

  “Could have called for back up, though,” he said mildly. Getting right to the point, I thought to myself as I followed him toward his small kitchen. Unlike mine, which I didn’t use at all, his looked functional and often-used. Because of his powers, he was kind of a picky eater. Pots, pans, spices, and oils, as well as a coffee pot and a few other items sat on the narrow counter.

  I leaned my back against the counter. “I didn’t need back up.”

  “Raider and Render,” he muttered. “Maddoc last night,” he said, glaring at me.

  “Yeah. Maddoc. And it meant a lot that I took him down on my own,” I said. “And you know that, maybe better than anyone, that I needed that. So what the hell is your problem?”

  He shook his head.

  “I had it under control.”

  Ryan took a breath. “I know you did. I know. And you kicked his ass and brought in one asshole we badly needed to catch then put the hurt on two more. You were amazing.”

  I held my hands up. “Okay. And?”

  He took a step toward me, leaned down over me, his face close to mine. “I wasn’t there. I had to sit and wait for the next time you checked in. I was about to lose my mind.”

  “Do I need to remind you that I’m the strongest fucking one here?”

  His eyes were locked onto mine. “No. I know you’re the strongest fucking one here.”

  “You’re just mad that you missed out on the fun,” I said, trying to lighten the mood a little. I did understand. This was the type of situation we were used to handling together. If he and Lindsey had gotten into a bad spot today, instead of me and Max, I would have been just as on edge, because it would have felt like I was supposed to be there.

  “You beat the shit out of Maddoc, Jo,” he said, the hint of a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

  “I didn’t have much of a choice. He just kept coming,” I said. He seemed to relax a little, and he backed away a little and started pouring coffee into two mugs. “I thought his thing was strength, and that’s definitely part of it, but it seems like he maybe doesn’t feel pain. It was just bizarre how he kept coming. And Raider was kind of the same way today. And she mentioned something about having the best Death had to offer, so I’m betting Killjoy isn’t the only enhanced on that team.”

  Ryan nodded slowly. “That could be. It’s true that it’s almost freakish how much punishment Maddoc can take.”

  He handed me a cup of coffee that he’d added half and half and sugar to, and I took it with a smile.

  “Was Monster any help at all?” he asked.

  “He was. He actually took Render down. I got a couple of hits in, and then Monster shifted into a lion and grabbed him.”

  “Good,” he said. He was looking me over. “Not a mark on you.”

  “Told you I had it under control,” I said.

  “This is gonna make me crazy,” he said, finally glancing away and taking a gulp of his coffee.

  “I mean. I’m not happy about it either but it’s not like I didn’t live my entire life before without you watching my back.”

  His expression closed up a bit. “I know,” he said.

  I sighed. “Don’t take it like that.”

  “I’m not taking it any way. You’re right. I’m being an over-protective ass. And I know you well enough to know that you’ll call for help if you ever need it. You’re a badass, but you’re not a reckless badass,” he added with a small smile.

  “Don’t tell anyone else that,” I said, and he laughed. “So we know how my day went. How was your shift with Lindsey?”

  He shrugged. “She talked. The whole time.”

  I laughed. I’m not a morning person and Ryan isn’t the most sociable guy. It’s part of the reason we got along so well. Neither one of us were chatterboxes when we worked, and Ryan isn’t one for small talk in general.

  “Other than that, though?”

  He shrugged. “I prefer my old partner,” he said quietly, meeting my eyes with his warm brown ones.

  “Same,” I said. And then I made myself look away. Why in the hell was I blushing now? “Um. Maybe if we train them really well, they can pair up and then we can get back to our nice, quiet patrols together. And they can talk each other’s ears off on their own patrol.”

  He laughed. “There’s a plan.”

  “Apparently the flight crew refers to me as ‘motherfucking Daystar.’ But in a nice way,” I said, and he laughed again.

  “I know.”

  “I didn’t know that.”

  “They adore you. It’s like your own personal fan club over at the flight deck.”

  I met his eyes again. “Will my partner promise to stop acting like an over-protective big brother when I’m out on patrol? Because I really don’t need protecting.”

  He straightened. “Jolene, I promise there’s nothing brotherly happening here. I’ll tone it down.”

  “Okay. Thanks.”

  “I’m about to eat. Want to stay?”

  “I don’t want to intrude,” I said, even as my stomach growled at the scent coming from the small oven in his suite.

  “You’re not. Do you like macaroni and cheese?”

  “What kind of monstrous person doesn’t?”

  He grinned and turned back to the stove, stirring something. I took my coffee cup into the living room. Like my living room, his looked out over the city. Same white walls, same neutral furniture. But where I had a few little personal things around, Ryan had almost nothing. The television was off, but he had the stereo on. Rock. I walked to the windows and looked outside, drinking my coffee.

  I glanced down at myself, still in my uniform. When did this become my life, where I’d finally accepted the uniform I’d once railed against and wore it almost like a second skin? I had a t-shirt and yoga pants on underneath it, and it felt heavy and restrictive all of a sudden. I set my coffee down and went into Ryan’s bathroom to peel my uniform off. I folded it and left it on the counter. I glanced around. Soap on the counter, along with a toothbrush and toothpaste. Aftershave, a razor, and shaving cream lined up on a small shelf underneath the medicine cabinet. I picked up the bottle of aftershave and uncapped it. Yeah, that was him, I realized with a smile. I c
apped it again and put it back, then went back out to the living room. He was dishing up macaroni and he glanced up at me.

  “I was being nosy in your bathroom,” I told him, knowing he’d heard and smelled everything.

  “Be as nosy as you want,” he said. He set the plates on the table, and I walked into the kitchen to join him. He pulled my chair out and I sat down, thanking him.

  “Oh my god, this smells good,” I said. “I almost wish I had your enhanced senses at times like this.”

  “Hopefully it tastes as good as it smells,” he said. I took a bite, and the creamy, cheesy, slightly spicy flavor was nearly good enough to make me cry.

  “Holy hell,” I groaned. “Marry me.”

  He choked a little, and then he laughed, shaking his head.

  We ate in silence for a while, and when he offered seconds, I took them gratefully. When we were done, we carried our dishes into the kitchen.

  “I’ll help with these,” I said.

  “You don’t have to.”

  I shrugged, and after a moment, he turned the water on and started washing the dishes, and I stood beside him and dried them with the dishtowel he pointed to. For a while, there was nothing but the sound of running water and dishes clinking in the sink, the radio playing in the living room.

  It was cozy, I realized with a start. I glanced at Ryan out of the corner of my eye. “You were clearly raised much better than many of the guys I grew up with,” I finally said.

  He laughed. “Yeah? What makes you say that?”

  “You’re not a mess. And you have manners that I didn’t even know people still used,” I said.

  “Like what?”

  “Like that thing where if we’re walking somewhere, you automatically go to the street side of the sidewalk so I’m not walking by the street,” I said, smiling. “I’ve only actually seen men do that in movies even though Mama told me that was a basic thing that men should know to do. Manners were kind of a big deal with her.”