“At the Fair.” Jordan threw the answer over his shoulder. He was already on the way to the elevator. As soon as the doors opened, he stepped in and turned back to face Nina.
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to get him back. No matter what it takes.” The elevator doors closed on Nina’s worried face and took him down to the lair. By the time it stopped, Jordan was halfway undressed. He left his coveralls and shoes in the elevator, the shirt he discarded on the floor on the path to his leathers.
As he geared up, he considered all the places Leon could have taken Danny. The Fair was always packed with huge crowds of people, vendor stalls, and stages for performances. That made for lots of places to hide. But Leon wouldn’t waste time hiding. He wanted Jordan to come to him for whatever he had planned and was using Danny as bait. Which meant he’d be in the most obvious place. And the most obvious place was the St. Louis Gateway Arch, the towering monument that rose high over the fairgrounds.
Jordan dressed in record time. He dropped down into the seat of the Challenger and started it up. As soon as the engine was ready, he stomped on the gas, leaving rubber on the ground as he peeled out, flying through the underground tunnel. He shot up the ramp, going so fast the tires briefly left the ground. Jordan stayed in control of the powerful car, steering it into the right lane and quickly heading for the riverfront.
His in-dash video phone connected as he tore through the streets. Jordan took his attention away from the road long enough to see it was Big Rob’s face on the small screen.
“What?”
“Nina told me what’s going on. Let us help you.”
“I’m not going to waste time stopping to plan anything out. I want Danny away from that piece of shit as soon as possible.”
“Blaze-.”
Jordan cut him off. “If you want to help, meet me at the Arch. That’s most likely where Leon is holding him. I can use you and whoever you bring as backup.”
“We’ll be there.”
Blaze ended the call without another word. Hands tight on the steering wheel and gaze locked on the road, he sped to the riverfront with grim determination.
***
Cold wind buffeting his face brought Danny back to consciousness. A blindfold covered his eyes, and his mouth tasted like he’d been force fed a bag of cotton balls. He worked his tongue around in his mouth, trying to work up moisture. “You villains have got to stop knocking me out,” he croaked as soon as he was able to speak. A voice spoke up over the gusting wind.
“Careful there. Wouldn’t want you to fall.”
The owner of the voice untied the blindfold, letting it fall away. Danny opened his eyes and took in his surroundings in growing horror. Open sky above his head. Metal beneath his bare feet. The Mississippi river across and below him. He was six hundred and thirty feet in the air, on top of the St. Louis Gateway Arch.
“Oh, shit! Oh, fuck!” He didn’t need a second warning to be careful. He froze to the spot, terrified one wrong move would send him plummeting over the edge.
Leon stepped from his side to stand right in front of him.
“Hi, Danny. I told you you were going to help me.”
Danny gaped at him, too scared to think of a comeback.
“But I was kidding. You won’t fall unless I want you to.” He tapped Danny’s wrists, which were tied behind his back.
Danny realized he was bound to a pole, the metal cold where it touched his spine and the back of his head.
“The base of this stand is magnetized. Like my boots but more powerful.” He lifted a foot, demonstrating how the sole of his boot almost immediately slammed back down to stick to the metal below it. “Still, I wouldn’t move too much.”
The knowledge that he was somewhat secure gave Danny only the slightest sense of relief. He was still higher than he’d ever planned to be unless he was sitting in a plane seat and snacking on peanuts. He realized something. The ground below was full of revelers but none of them were reacting to the extremely out of the ordinary sight of people standing on top of the Arch. They were high up, true. But it wasn’t full dark yet, people should be able to see them.
“Why doesn’t anyone see we’re up here?”
“That’s courtesy of my friend, Lady Shade. She’s got us masked. We won’t be seen until I want us to be seen.”
Too scared to move more than his head, Danny looked to the side to see a woman with long black hair, holding a black lace parasol. She stood still as stone, her hair and dress untouched by the wind. She looked weird, but didn’t appear to be an immediate threat. Unlike the man in front of him. Danny turned back to Leon.
“Why are we up here? You couldn’t hold me hostage in a basement?”
“I want to recreate a little magic from years ago.”
“What magic?”
“Jordan didn’t tell you how he got his powers?”
“He told me there was an accident.”
“Typical,” Leon said with a snort. “Of course he left out all the good parts since they don’t make him look good. Would you like to know exactly what kind of accident there was?”
Danny had to yell slightly to be heard over the wind. “I’m literally a captive audience. I can’t stop you from saying whatever you want to say.”
“True. But you’re curious. And you want me to tell you this story. Lucky for you, we’ve got time to kill.”
Danny wouldn’t admit it but Leon was right. He did want to know the full story of the night Jordan had received his powers.
“When Jordan, Travis and I were kids, we liked to boost cars. We didn’t keep ‘em. Just used ‘em for street races and joyriding, then left them on the side of the road for the cops to find. Except one night, the police showed up right as we boosted a sweet Mustang Cobra. We ditched it and took off running with the police in pursuit.”
“It started to storm. We knew we’d have a better chance to get away if we went up high, so Jordan suggested we climb to one of our rooftop hangouts. To put more distance between us, we kept going ready, to jump to the next building. We’d made that jump a dozen times before but that night Travis didn’t make it. He landed on the edge, pinwheeling and yelling. Jordan tried to run back and help but Travis dropped. I heard him hit the ground even over the noise of the storm.”
Danny regretted giving his silent agreement to hear this story. He didn’t want to hear anymore, but Leon continued.
“You should have seen Jordan’s face when Travis fell. It was hysterical. His mouth open and eyes all big, hanging over the side of the building while Travis went splat. I wanted to laugh but had to keep up appearances that I gave a fuck about my so-called friends. Jordan stayed on his knees, screaming in the rain like he was in a fucking R&B video. I wasn’t about to sit around and get caught by the cops, so I took off again. And that’s when the power line came down.”
Danny listened as Leon told the story, speaking without an ounce of remorse or sorrow. He sounded as if he were sharing harmless youthful exploits, rather than the unpleasant death of a young man. “You’re evil,” he whispered, the wind snatching the words out of his mouth. Somehow Leon heard, or read his lips, because he agreed.
“Yes,” Leon said matter of factly. “Jordan always suspected something was up. But he just thought I was an asshole. It wasn’t until he caught me fucking his boyfriend on top of Travis’s memorial that he really knew.”
Nausea twisted Danny’s stomach. He’d known that Jordan’s former lover had betrayed him — he hadn’t realized it was in such a disrespectful manner. “If you think you’re going to do that to me...”
“Nah, that’s not what I want. What I want is to see that self-righteous, glorified bug-zapper’s face when you go cartwheeling off this monument. It’ll be even better than watching Travis fall, I know it. Might have to get my phone out and snap a pic so I can have more than just a memory of it.”
Fear and disgust and rage pulsed in Danny’s head. This monster had traumatized him and
planned to kill him to get revenge on Blaze for stopping his criminal behavior. He wasn’t dumb enough to pull against the restraints but he lost enough of his cool to yell in his captor’s face. “You know what I can’t wait to see? Blaze kicking your ass!”
“He can try. But I’m ready for him.”
Leon pulled a red foil packet from his pocket and tore it open. He dropped his head back and dumped the contents into his mouth, holding it there for a long moment before he swallowed, his Adam’s Apple bobbing up and down. Leon raised his head and grinned at Danny. He shook his arms out and bounced on his toes.
“Pure, un-cut Croton, baby. My strength is increasing exponentially, fear response is diminished, and I’ll feel no pain. Which means, I’m about to hulk up and beat the brakes off your boy. Try not to cry too hard when he’s laying bloody at your feet.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
E
very street leading to the riverfront was blocked off. Blaze didn’t give a fuck. He crashed through barriers, laying on the horn in warning for pedestrians to get out of the way. When he reached the riverfront section below the Arch, he brought the Challenger to a hard stop, tires squealing on the pavement.
He jumped out and sprinted up the bluff steps to the base of the monument, expecting to see Leon standing there with Danny and a dozen of his Red Vests in front of him. But they weren’t there. In fact, there was nothing out of the ordinary. People milled around, eating fair food and drinking from plastic cups. On the hill behind the Arch, people sat on blankets, waiting for the fireworks to start.
Blaze spun around in a slow circle, confused. He’d been sure this was the place Leon would take Danny for his showdown. He wished the tracker was still active on the card he’d given Danny. But those were only for temporary use, and it would have deactivated weeks ago. He would have to find Danny on his own.
Frustration started to build in his chest, and he clenched his fists. Then as he looked at the Arch, towering over the grounds, it hit him. Leon always saw himself as above everyone else. He would want to take this fight to the highest ground possible. Leon wasn’t at the Arch. He was on it.
Blaze walked to the base of the steel monument. He took a deep breath, got a running start and jumped. Magnetizing his hands and feet helped him stick to metal so that he could spider crawl up the side. Fairgoers yelled and screamed when they saw what he was doing, but he ignored them and kept climbing. Even using his powers and his strength it was a tough climb. The higher he went, the stronger the wind grew, until he had to fight to stay attached and not get knocked off by a strong gust.
When he reached the top, an odd disorienting shadow kept him from seeing more than an arm’s length in front of him. Blaze waved his hand in front of his face. The veil or whatever it was lifted, revealing Leon, a black-haired woman he didn’t recognize, and Danny. Danny was bound to a metal pole, his hands behind his back. Jordan took a step toward him but he couldn’t get to him without clashing with Leon who blocked his path.
“Danny! Are you okay?” he called out.
Danny barely moved when he answered.
“I’m fine,” he shouted back. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“I’m going to get you out of this, I swear.”
“You guys are so romantic.”
Blaze looked at his enemy. Leon stared back, a cocky grin on his face.
“Thank you, Lady Shade,” he said to the woman.
She bowed her head before disappearing into thin air.
“I had Lady Shade use her powers to mask our presence. Wouldn’t want the fair-goers to see us and set off a panic before we could start our little get together.”
Furious that Danny was in this position, Blaze glared at Leon, fighting the urge to blast him with heart-stopping electric bolt. “Family is supposed to be off-limits Leon. I know you’re a piece of shit, but I thought you’d at least stick to that one rule.”
“He’s family?” Leon raised an eyebrow. “Did you put a ring on it?”
“No, but-.”
“I’m talking! I am sick to my fucking guts of you running around this city, policing everybody like having powers made you a god.”
“Is that what this is about? You’re jealous because I’m enhanced and you’re not?”
“Please.” Leon scoffed. “I’m not jealous of Jordan Wells.”
“You are!” Blaze shouted over the rushing wind. “You’ve always been jealous of me. Jealous I was a better football player even though you owned the damn basketball team as the starting point guard. Hell, you were jealous I was better at stealing and racing cars. Every little thing that I had, that anybody had, you always wanted for yourself. I can imagine how it’s been eating at you all these years that I have super powers and you don’t.”
“Shut up,” Leon snarled. You might have had a few wins on me. But I had the grades, the guys, and the scholarships. My life was set, until you decided to be a self-righteous prick and turned me in for the same shit you used to do.”
“I never went as far as you did and you know it. I didn’t physically hurt anyone.”
“Really? Let’s ask Travis if he was hurt. Oh, wait...” He trailed off, a shit eating grin on his face.
Fury and years’ old shame and grief burned low in his gut. Blaze hastily closed his mind to it. He wasn’t going down that road or he might end up doing something rash. “You got me up here, Leon. What do you want?”
“I want to take you on one on one. You win — you take your little chocolate drop home and I won’t bother him again.”
“And if I lose?”
“If you lose, you stay out of my business forever.”
Blaze would have immediately agreed. But he knew it wasn’t that simple. “And?”
“And... Danny goes splat!” he said as he loudly clapped his hands together.
“Fuck that. I’m not risking his life over a pissing contest. Let me take him down right now and I’ll leave your entire operation alone. If you still want to fight, you and I can settle it once he’s safe on the ground.”
“You don’t dictate the terms here, Jordan.”
Leon was right, as long as he had control of Danny, he could neither dictate terms or brute force his way out of this. He changed tactics. “You couldn’t beat me in high school in our play fights. What makes you think you can beat me now?”
“I had a boost to my stats.”
“He took Croton!” Danny shouted.
“But wait, there’s more.” Leon pulled a pair of gloves from his back pocket. They were black leather, with huge metal spikes across the knuckles. “The way I see it, you’ve got three options,” he said as he pulled on the gloves. “One, refuse to fight me and try to get your boy. But I’ll try to stop you and we’ll end up fighting anyway. Two. Throw me off the Arch and kill me to get me out of the way without any fuss. Three, man up and fight me.”
“You know I’m not a killer, Leon.”
“I don’t know what you get up to in that suit when you’re running around playing God.”
Blaze clenched his jaw, determined not to lose his temper. “Fine. Let’s fight.”
“Wise choice. But be careful where you throw those bolts of electricity. Wouldn’t want a loose spark to hit your lover.”
Blaze snapped his head over to look at Danny. His eyes were wide with fear, the expression matching the icy terror that shot down Blaze’s spine. By binding Danny to a metal pole, he’d essentially turned him into a lightning rod. If one of his bolts missed Leon and hit that pole, he could electrocute his lover. He would have to be careful using his power, especially since extreme emotion — like fear for Danny — made it more erratic. Leon had set things to his advantage well, hobbling Blaze’s ability to use his greatest weapon.
This was dangerous. The most dangerous fight he’d ever been in, with the highest of stakes. There was barely any room to maneuver. Too many steps left or right and he’d fall off the edge. Too many back or forth and he’d slide down the side. At least if he fe
ll that way, he might be able to stop his fall. And of course, he had to be careful not to knock into Danny.
He put his guard up. Leon took the first swing right as the first firework went off overhead with a loud boom and shimmer of colorful sparks. Blaze ducked, and went to come up with a punch as he usually did. But his focus was split between so many details — keeping an eye on Danny, watching to make sure he didn’t get too close to the edge, calculating how much voltage he could safely use, that he forgot to keep his feet magnetized as he moved. Between the force of his swing and the buffeting wind, he almost lost his balance. He aborted the punch and quickly steadied himself. Damnit.
“C’mon, Jordan!” Leon taunted. “It’s just like our old play fights, remember? You should be able to beat me easily.”
Before Blaze could calibrate, Leon hit him with a double-punch combo to each side of his torso. Those metal spikes made their presence felt when Leon’s fists collided with his flesh. But Blaze didn’t let it faze him. While Leon was in close, Blaze threw his head forward. Leon managed to bob to the side and avoid most of the head butt, but the blow was enough to rock him back in those magnetized boots.
Blaze steeled himself and took Leon’s punches while he got acclimated to this fighting environment and studied his opponent. Leon hit him with an uppercut to the jaw, an elbow to the cheek, and more punches to his flanks. The Croton made the other man as strong as an ox and the hits hurt like hell. But Blaze took them all, watching and analyzing Leon’s fighting style.
If he was going to win this fight, he would have to concentrate. He narrowed his focus, eliminating the elements that weren’t top priority. He pushed aside thoughts of using his power so that he wouldn’t have to worry about a rouge surge hitting Danny. And he wouldn’t even look at his lover since he was as safe as he could be at the moment. There was nothing he could do to help him until he defeated Leon. For the time being, his only concern was on keeping his feet magnetized so he didn’t fall, and punching Leon. Now, he was ready to dole out punishment of his own.
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