Darkest Day (StrikeForce #3)

by Colleen Vanderlinden

  “Thank you all for coming today. We are here to officially and publicly hear the case against Alpha of StrikeForce and his fellow Accused, Crystal and Nightbane. We call to speak Portia, leader of StrikeForce, resident of the city of Detroit.”

  Portia stood and went to the podium that had been set up just below the dais at the front of the room. The media shuffled, trying to get a shot of Portia’s face, or of her facing the council.

  For the next two hours, Portia answered questions about Alpha and what he and his pals had done in their time in charge of StrikeForce. Toxxin, David, and Jenson were also called, and they answered a few questions, usually clarifying something Portia had said. They then called Ryan, and he stood with a sigh.

  “It has been stated that like Toxxin, you were also kept collared so that Alpha could dampen your powers at a moment’s notice if he deemed it necessary. Can you tell us why he would do that, Caine?” Eve asked, looking at Ryan expectantly.

  I leaned forward. I’d wondered about the same thing. How had Alpha gotten Ryan to join? And what had caused him to decide to collar Ryan?

  “I joined StrikeForce shortly after it formed, in May of the fourth year after Confluence One,” he said. “I was excited to serve my city in any way I could. So I secured a meeting with Alpha and agreed to join up. Everything was great for the first couple of months.”

  “And then what changed?” Ms. Thunder asked. She had a kind, warm voice, and I liked her even more the longer the questioning had gone on.

  I heard Ryan sigh, saw the slight lift in his shoulders as he did so. “I started noticing some strange things happening,” he said quietly.

  “What kind of strange things?” Eve demanded.

  “At first it was little things. We’d have fights against Dr. Death or Daemon— at that time, those guys weren’t teamed up. They each had their own little crews. The team-up came later,” he explained. “So we’d have these fights, because those two were always around. It was like they were drunk on their power, sure that they could do whatever they wanted, mess with whoever they wanted. And that’s supposed to be the kind of thing we’re here to prevent. But we’d face off against them, and we’d start getting the advantage, and then, out of nowhere, Alpha would call for some really idiotic tactic, like falling back instead of pressing the advantage, or focusing all of our power on a minor member of the villain team when we should have been trying to get the guy in charge. This always seemed to happen when we were right on the verge of overpowering either Death or Daemon. Every time,” he repeated. “After about the fifth time, we got back here empty handed and I was pi—,” he paused. “I was angry,” he said. The room was absolutely silent. “So I marched up to his office and said a few things that bothered him. I suggested that he wasn’t brave enough to take them in. And I said what I was thinking, that it almost seemed like he was helping them.”

  “What happened then, Caine?” Ms. Thunder asked.

  “I heard someone creeping up behind me, and it was Nightbane. With a dampening collar in his hands,” Ryan said. I clenched my teeth. “I fought with him while he tried to get the collar on me. And I was winning. And then Alpha said something that made me stop, made me realize how screwed I actually was.”

  “And what was that?” Eve asked. “What on earth could Alpha possibly have said to make you stay with a team you believed was crooked, to allow a man like Alpha to collar you?” Her tone dripped with derision, and I wanted to hit her. Hard.

  At the same time, my stomach twisted. I didn’t want to hear what he would say next. I didn’t want to hear that the guy who had cried at my Mama’s funeral was some kind of psychotic asshole, or a murderer, or a former supervillain. I didn’t want to know.

  And at the same time, I did, because I swore to myself I’d never be as blind to anyone again as I’d been with Killjoy. I took a breath and listened.

  “He threatened my family,” Ryan said, his voice echoing through the room. The cameras started flashing again, and I felt like I was going to puke.

  “Can you clarify when you say that he threatened your family?” Jayhawk asked.

  “I’d tried very hard to keep my family away from my life here and in what I did before I came to StrikeForce. I felt better that way, and my family, being the amazing, understanding people they are, went along with it. I had them tucked away. Safe. Or so I thought. It turned out that despite all of my precautions, despite trying to get rid of any possible tie anyone could find between them and me, Alpha found them. And he had proof that he did. Photos. Lots of them,” he clarified. I felt Jenson tense beside me, and then she raised her hand. I glanced at her, and the council seemed confused for a moment.

  “Yes, Jenson?” Eve asked tiredly.

  “Those photos… they’re still here on our server, the one Beta and I hacked into to get the correspondence Portia mentioned earlier. In case you needed any proof of what he’s saying,” she said.

  “Thank you,” Ms. Thunder said, smiling at Jenson. “I’ll see that they’re added to the evidence file. Please catch up with me after this.”

  Jenson nodded and settled back in her seat.

  “Very well. So what happened after he showed you the photos?” Eve asked Ryan.

  “I stopped fighting. And he told me, flat out, that he needed me on the team and that if I wanted to keep my family safe, I’d behave. So, I behaved. I let them collar me, and I did what Alpha said to do. For the most part,” he finished.

  “I’d like to go back to something,” Jayhawk said. “You mentioned that you protecting your family went back to the period of time before you joined StrikeForce. What did you do back then that made it necessary to keep your family safe?”

  I bit my lip. I remembered Chance saying, back when I’d first met Caine, that Caine was a “trained assassin,” in addition to his super sense powers. I’d certainly seen that he could shoot accurately and with devastating results. I’d guessed he was in the military. Or, hoped he was.

  “I’d rather not make that part of the public record,” Ryan said quietly.

  My heart sank. He was totally a psychopath. Probably also a murderer. And very likely a whole bunch of other bad shit as well.

  Damn it.

  “You do realize that that hurts your credibility a bit, yes?” Eve asked.

  “Well, I’ll tell you what. When you decide to start telling the public the details of your secret identity, then I’ll divulge my life publicly. You first, though,” he finished.

  Eve glared at him wordlessly for several moments, and Ms. Thunder cleared her throat.

  “Regardless of what Caine’s life was before his time in StrikeForce, the record stands that he has performed admirably, heroically, and selflessly in his time serving the people of Michigan and the rest of the region. I hardly think this is the type of thing that has any bearing on this case.”

  “Yes, of course,” Eve said icily. “You may be seated.” A moment later, she said. “We’re down to our final testimony. I call Daystar, member of StrikeForce, resident of the city of Detroit.”

  A murmur went through the assembled crowd, and there went all of the camera flashes again as I stood up uncertainly and made my way to the podium. The flashes continued for quite a while. I didn’t know why they bothered. One picture of me was the same as any other; they couldn’t see anything of the real me. Not a single inch of my flesh showed when I was in uniform, not a single hair. Nothing. My uniform offered me perfect anonymity, and I appreciated it.

  “Daystar, according to our reports, you spearheaded the initiative to remove Alpha from control of StrikeForce. Is this correct?”

  The damn camera flashes began again, and I blinked spots away from my eyes.

  “It was a team effort,” I said in a voice an octave or two lower than my usual voice. I hated speaking in public. I felt like every moment was a moment closer to someone seeing the real me, and I wanted to keep myself to myself. It probably seemed stupid, now that I had no one left to lose, but maybe that was it:
my private life was the one thing I had left of my own.

  “But it was your idea. Your plan,” Eve said.

  “It was my idea,” I agreed, “But I couldn’t have pulled it off without the rest of StrikeForce helping me. It was a team effort,” I repeated.

  “And he was removed from power because?” Eve asked.

  “What, do you want a list? Or were you not listening earlier? He was keeping members of his own team collared and here by force. He locked me up and collared me, sent me out after villains like Maddoc and refused to undampen me so I could defend myself against them. He took his team mates’ blood and DNA and lied to them about where it was going, sending it to his friend Dr. Death instead—“

  “Allegedly,” Eve put in loudly.

  “Dr. Death, who was working all that tine for Killjoy,” I continued, repeating what Portia had said. It was the first time the Death/Killjoy connection had been made publicly, and the shock in the room had been palpable. The effect was much the same when I said it.

  “And what have you done about that alleged connection?” Eve asked in a smooth voice. The room went deadly silent behind me.

  “I fought against Killjoy near Midtown a few months ago. And we’ve been trying to track down any samples Killjoy and Death may have created.”

  “Ah, yes. The alleged ‘super hero drug,’” Eve said, doing the whole obnoxious-ass air quotes thing and everything. “An item that, of course, we have no evidence of.”

  “Well, we’re certainly looking for evidence,” I said, trying to unclench my jaw a little.

  “I’m sure. You know, no one has seen Dr. Death since the day of that fight you had with Killjoy,” she said

  “Because Killjoy killed him,” I said.

  “So you and your team mates claim. Yet no body was ever found, and nobody saw Killjoy anywhere near Death. You, on the other hand, were caught on camera flying near Death’s apartment not long before he went missing, and his apartment was found in absolute ruins.”

  “Maybe you should be trying to get Killjoy to come in and talk about what he did that day,” I said, glaring at Eve through my mask.

  “Maybe you should tell us what happened at a facility off of the Mexican coast that belonged to Dr. Death,” she said, and there went the cameras again.

  “What are you even talking about?” I asked in a bored tone, and it earned a few chuckles from the assembled people.

  “It was an international incident. Explosives were used. Private property damage is a serous crime.”

  “Well. So is killing people. Which is why, again, maybe you should have Killjoy come in to be questioned. But I’m guessing you can’t find him, huh? And what about all of the super powered people who’ve been going missing lately? I haven’t heard a single peep about you doing anything about that.”

  She stiffened. “What are you implying? A few missing supers aren’t exactly at the top of our priority list. And what about Killjoy? Did you kill him, too?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Not likely. He seems to be steering clear of me for some reason. Can’t imagine why,” I said. “Maybe he’s a coward.” The cameras started again, just as I’d known they would, and this time I wanted it. This time, I wanted to use them to try to draw him out of his hole.

  “A coward?” Eve sneered. “Killjoy is a hero.”

  “Killjoy is a villain. He’s the villain formerly known as Raider, and he’s been right under all of your noses this entire time.”

  “You’re delusional,” Eve said, her jaw tight, eyes sparkling with malice.

  I leaned on the podium. “Smart girl,” I hissed, going with a suspicion that had been building during the questioning. “Sweet girl. There’s nobody like you. Sound familiar? You know he’s a ginger, don’t you?”

  She froze, and red crept up her neck and face. The other members of her council looked at her.

  “I see his lines haven’t changed any. You’ll want to be careful, Eve. He’s a snake and he will strike when you least expect it,” I added quietly. The cameras went again, and Eve seemed to collect herself.

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she shot at me.

  “Sure you don’t,” I answered. “I wonder when he approached you? I’m guessing it was shortly after he disappeared from sight like the coward he is. I bet he became real interested in you once it was announced that your investigation was beginning. He probably checks in all the time, just wondering how you are and what you were up to that day.”

  She was glaring daggers at me now.

  “You’ll want to watch yourself. Caine refused to answer questions about his past, but we can surely get into yours if you like.”

  “Go for it,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest. She sat silently, glaring at me. Ms. Thunder put her hand over her mike and began talking to Eve. The look on her face suggested that she was not at all happy and that Eve had overstepped some line. It went on for quite a while, and everyone started edging closer, trying to hear what they were saying to one another.

  Finally, Eve removed her hand from her mike and glared at me. “Thank you, Daystar,” she said, and I gave her a lazy salute, which earned me a few more chuckles form the crowd, and I sat down next to Ryan.

  “You handled that better than I did,” Ryan said, leaning close to me.

  “Thanks. I think I need to puke now,” I said. He bumped his knee against mine, and I felt a stab of regret. It really was too bad that he was probably an evil psycho killer.

  The Tribunal conferred for a few minutes, and I watched as Eve sat back and crossed her arms across her chest, pouting like a petulant child. A few moments later, Ms. Thunder cleared her throat and the crowd grew quiet again. “It is this Tribunal’s opinion that Alpha was indeed in collusion with the villain known as Dr. Death, and, vey likely with Killjoy as well, based on testimony and evidence provided by Portia, including emails between Alpha and his contact. It is also our opinion that Alpha has no business leading a superhero team, and henceforth place all StrikeForce related assets and properties in trust, to be managed by Portia or whoever serves as leader of StrikeForce in perpetuity. We find, by majority opinion, for StrikeForce, and find Alpha, Nightbane, and Crystal guilty of crimes against the super powered community.” The flashes and chatter began again, and Ms. Thunder held her hand up. “However,” she said loudly, and everyone piped down. “However, due to certain dissenting opinions among those on the Tribunal, we do not feel comfortable taking Alpha and his cohorts into custody as requested. We, again, the majority of us, do not feel comfortable with the task of imprisoning them in our facility. We are ashamed to admit that we are unsure of our ability to secure them, and that is an issue we will be forced to look at in the near future. We advise that Alpha and company remain in confinement here at StrikeForce Command and have already allocated a member of our own security force, Icer, who will assist in ensuring that the prisoners remain secure. This meeting is adjourned,” she said, and rapped the gavel twice.

  The hearing was officially over, and I watched as James and Portia went to the front to speak to the Tribunal. There were things being signed, a few handshakes. The audience and media slowly started flooding out of the room, and then, finally, out of Command which made me breathe a lot easier. We all stood by and watched them exit, making sure nobody stayed who wasn’t supposed to be there. We stood in the lobby until the Tribunal left the room. then entered the elevators.

  “They’re staying overnight and then heading back to their headquarters after their official sign-off meeting tomorrow morning,” Portia said tiredly when she joined us. “Nice job today everyone.”

  We all nodded.

  “Get some rest if you can. Hopefully we’ll have a quiet night.” With that, she took another elevator, heading up to her office. Jenson and David took off to pull together the last few files for the Tribunal to add to their casefile, and Toxxin, Chance, and the others all went off to eat or rest. That left me with Ryan in the lobby, and I wasn’t sure what to do.
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  “I’m not some kind of evil asshole,” he said after a few awkward moments.

  My gaze jerked up to his face. “What?”

  “I can practically read your posture. You’re leaning away from me and your heart rate is weird and erratic, and it has been since they asked me about my past. Is there something you want to ask me?”

  I shook my head.

  Ryan sighed, then took my arm and pulled me toward the front exit. “Let’s take a walk and patrol a bit.”

  I let him pull me along. I promised myself I wouldn’t be stupid this time. We walked out of Command, nodding to the guards, then we strolled through the courtyard between the towers.

  “You’re worried I’m Killjoy Part Two, huh?” Ryan asked, and I didn’t answer. “I mean, not that we’re involved the way you and Killjoy were,” he said. We stopped, and he crossed his arms and looked around. We were both still wearing our uniforms, our masks. His allowed me to see his eyes, and I was glad of it. I was also glad that he couldn’t see mine.

  “You’re really good at shooting people,” I said quietly. “I was thinking you were maybe former military or something, but that doesn’t seem like the kind of thing you’d keep secret, especially at a time like this.”

  “Which leaves, what? Killer for hire? Sniper of some kind?”

  I didn’t say anything.

  “Jolene, do you really think I’m any of that? Some kind of killer?”

  “I’m not the greatest judge of character,” I said, looking away.

  “A psychopath fooled you. He took advantage of you at a time when you were lonely and pissed off and going through a bunch of changes. He was a friendly face when you were surrounded by enemies. That is what manipulative fuckers do. And you were on the right track regarding Eve and Killjoy, I think,” he added. “Jo, what are the odds that everyone you know is a psychopath who just wants to use you or hurt you or manipulate you?”

  “I know,” I said. “My pulse went nuts because I was afraid to hear it, but at the same time, I need to know.”

  “I was Secret Service,” he said quietly, glancing around. “Never had the honor of escorting or guarding a President, but I did all of my initial training and started the first phase of my field work. I guarded a few dignitaries. I loved my job. I did that until I was twenty-six, and then the Confluence hit and I couldn’t keep on doing what I had been doing.” He started walking again and I went with him. After a while, he continued talking. “So I was out. I eventually adjusted to my new powers, mostly. I worked a few private security jobs. One night, I was going to my car after work and I heard someone screaming. Not very close, but, you know,” he shrugged. “So I ran in that direction and there was this guy holding a woman, and she was frantically trying to get away. And the guy was… all I could think of at the time was that he looked like he was throwing lightning at the two guys who were trying to take him down. I didn’t think,” he said. “I ran at him, surprised him, knocked him down and out. The woman got free, and the other two guys came and helped me finish securing him. One of the guys was a teleporter. Kind of like Brianne. Really fast,” he added. “He ported the electro guy to the Tribunal’s main holding facility and then came back and the three of us talked. They were both dressed all in black, ski masks, the whole deal.”