“Claire, calm down. I was there when you were coming up with a script about the vigilante.”
Benji winces almost as soon as the words leave his mouth. Claire might have forgiven him if he had let it go, but it’s too late to erase those last words from her memory.
She becomes increasingly agitated. “I wasn’t coming up with anything. We prepare before a show.”
Benji’s eyes lose some of their softness. Claire watches as his demeanor transitions from date to opponent.
“Claire, I apologize. I’m not trying to start a fight. Why don’t you tell me what you and Gabe Hammington were doing?”
Benji sits back a little. He may have hoped that he had steered the conversation into safer waters.
He’ll soon learn that hope was misplaced, Claire thinks. “I shouldn’t have to tell you! You don’t know what I do, and you have no business judging me!”
Benji’s tone also becomes harsher.
“Calm down. Why are you so upset?”
At least he has some backbone, Claire thinks.
“Lou died for that story, and you’re being a dick insinuating that I made the whole thing up!” Claire shouts.
“I’m not insinuating anything. Is that your guilty conscience eating at you?”
This comment sets her off. Claire knows Benji speaks the truth about her guilt, but she isn’t ready to admit it to him.
The patrons at nearby tables focus on the one-sided shouting match. Emma timidly approaches.
“Ma’am--”
Claire promptly cuts her off. “Back off, Suzy Q. I don’t need you to tell me to be quiet because I don’t plan on being in this room much longer!”
Claire aggressively stands to storm off.
“Claire, come on, please stay.”
“You just struck out, Detective Tanner.”
Claire rushes out of the restaurant. Benji looks embarrassed and dejected. He pulls some money out of his pocket and throws it onto the table.
He sheepishly addresses the staff and dining room occupants. “I’m sorry for causing a scene, everyone.”
Next, Benji also leaves the restaurant.
The evening continues. Keith and Kyle eat ice cream at a local parlor. Their skating complete, they opt to replenish their calories in the typical teenager fashion.
Between each spoonful, and with a bit more in his mouth than he should, Keith comments, “This is good. I like finishing off a sweltering summer day with ice cream.”
Kyle nods. “Especially when they mix in five different kinds of candy bars.”
The two take a few more bites.
Kyle brings up their favorite topic. “So, have you looked at the blog recently? How many followers do we have?”
Keith frowns. “We’ve only got two followers . . . and one is my mom. I think she did it to show support. Perhaps to keep track of me. I know she doesn’t care for Beatdown very much.”
Kyle assumes Keith’s dour demeanor. “Well, Beatdown has only been around for a month or so. It’ll take time for word of mouth to get around on our blog. We just need something to attract the followers to us.”
Keith agrees. “I know. Right now, D2I has got the market cornered on Beatdown. Did you see their new footage with Beatdown fighting a supervillain?”
“Yeah, a villain who looks similar to him. Maybe a copycat?”
“A copycat who somehow has pretty much the exact same armor? It’s just thinner and lighter in color. I don’t know. There’s a connection between the two. I just don’t know what it is.”
“Maybe they’re from the same planet.”
“You think Beatdown is an alien?” Keith asks while pondering the ramifications of that origin.
“He has to be. Nobody on Earth has that kind of tech.”
“Maybe. Or, maybe we just don’t know about it.”
Keith thinks about it for a few more moments, then his eyes light up with a solution for their problem. “We need an origin conspiracy theory element to our blog.”
Kyle nods. He probably knows where Keith is going with this. The two continue eating. They’re almost finished with their decadent desserts.
“So, what do you want to do now?” Kyle asks. “It’s getting kind of late; do you want to go home?”
Keith briefly considers this. “Why? My mom isn’t home. Like she would even know that I stayed out late. Check this out.”
Keith holds up his phone for Kyle to see. It reveals that he hasn’t missed any calls for the day.
Keith continues. “She doesn’t even bother calling to see how I’m doing anymore. She’s just too busy at work.”
“She’s got to be really busy these days. I know my dad is.”
“I know, but at least your dad makes you check in. I think my mom forgot that she used to expect that of me.”
The two continue to eat their ice cream.
“Why don’t we go see a movie?” Keith suggests. “My mom won’t be home before midnight. We can check out whatever is playing, then go home.”
“Sounds good. What do you want to see?”
“How about that new sci-fi flick, Disorder? It’s been killing it at the box office.”
“Okay, but what do we buy so we can sneak into Disorder? It’s rated R.”
“Who cares? We’ll get tickets to that kiddie flick, The Adventure. Then we’ll just mistakenly walk into the real film.”
“Sounds like a plan. And, here I am, out of ice cream.”
Kyle balls up his trash and throws it at the nearby can. Melted strawberry ice cream gets on his hand and trickles down his left arm.
Keith laughs at him. “That’s what you get. You didn’t even make the shot.”
“Shut up,” Kyle retorts as he wipes his arm clean. “C’mon, let’s go.”
The two boys set off on their trip to the movie theater.
Karen and Carlos once again patrol the evening streets of Colberton. Karen drives while Carlos observes the radio.
Toby’s voice breaks the relative silence of their car. “Three Adam Twenty-One, please respond to shots fired at Lazy Loop and Dance Road.”
Carlos responds to Toby’s call, “Control, this is Three Adam Twenty-One. We’ve got it.” He hangs up the mike and comments to Karen, “It’s going to be another one of those nights. Do you think he’ll be back?”
Karen gives a knowing look. “It seems like ‘shots fired’ always means ‘at the vigilante.’ So yeah, I think she’ll be back.”
Karen turns on the lights and sirens and speeds off toward their destination.
“The news stations seem to love him. They all have different names for him. Should we come up with one?” Carlos asks.
Karen can’t believe what her partner just suggested. “No. Whatever they call her, she’s a criminal vigilante. Our job is to bring her in. Besides, why is it that everyone wants to treat her like a star in the sky? We don’t all need to give her a unique name.”
Karen aggressively speeds up for emphasis.
Carlos laughs. “That’s what I love about you, Partner. Everything you say makes me think of something new to ask about your past.”
Karen accepts that she said a little too much and will have to clarify. “An old boyfriend named a star after me as a romantic gesture. I dumped him later when I found out that he did the same thing for his three other girlfriends.”
“Ha! I knew there was a story.”
The patrol car continues to speed along.
Scantily clad women run and hide while armed men shoot in all directions of an exquisitely decorated hotel. They try to take out a single attacker. The Opposition has two gauntlets which have blades that protrude out of either end when they come in contact with an opponent. The Opposition does just that to the man swinging a machete at him.
The machete man groans and falls over dead. The Opposition has made short work of the armed thugs. Two sex slavers charge him as he dispatches a third. They both fire fully automatic sub-machine guns at the armored attacker. He easily
dodges the shots. It almost seems like he can anticipate future bullet trajectories.
The Opposition flips in the air and uses flight to boost his attack into the first of the two. As soon as his fists connect with the man’s chest, two large blades that were spring loaded extend into his body and come out his back. The force of the attack throws the man to the ground.
The sex slave ringleader identifies that he’s outclassed. “Damn it!”
The sound of sirens in the distance increase in volume as police close in on the hotel. The ringleader realizes that he must make an escape. His only other options are to be killed or arrested.
The ringleader shoots at some of the slave women hiding nearby and kills a few. The women all start to bolt for the door, exactly as he intended.
He uses this new opportunity to relay his intentions to his remaining guards. “We got to get out of here. Scatter!”
The remaining slavers try to blend in with the crowd and escape. The Opposition continues to kill his targets, but many make it outside.
Outside the hotel, the slavers run for their parked cars and jump in. Police cruisers appear, including Karen and Carlos, and attempt to block the exit. Unfortunately, many cars push their way past and drive off in multiple directions.
The shooting inside the hotel tapers off. Carlos assumes it means the vigilante has defeated his interior targets.
Three vehicles speed into traffic and head for the city. One of them with the obvious ringleader at the wheel. Karen and Carlos are the only police to pull up behind and attempt to overtake them.
“I hate the bold ones,” Carlos comments. He turns on his loudspeaker and addresses the fleeing criminals. “This is the Colberton Police Department. Pull your vehicles over and turn your engines off.”
A barrage of bullets from all three vehicles is their answer.
“Oh hell!” Karen screams as she swerves to avoid the shots. Several hit their car, but they don’t cause any injuries or severe damage.
Carlos forces himself to stay calm as he radios for backup. “Control, I need assistance. I’ve got three fleeing vehicles firing fully automatic weapons. They’re heading into a heavily populated area of the city.”
The four vehicles drive at extreme speeds. They all follow the ringleader. More police cars join the pursuit.
The road opens up a bit and apparently gives Karen the confidence to be bold. “I’ve got to end this.”
Karen uses a pit maneuver and forces the rear vehicle off the road. It crashes into a lamppost, and a nearby police cruiser immediately pulls off to make the arrests.
Karen continues to follow the other two vehicles. A shadow passes over Karen and Carlos’ vehicle. Carlos sticks his head out the window and looks up.
A nearby Keith and Kyle casually stroll on their way to the movie theater. The sound of machine guns alerts them, and they also look up at the sky. They observe their hero as he swoops down to fly alongside the driver’s window of one of the fleeing cars.
Kyle is the first of the teenage duo to identify what’s happening. “Whoa! It’s Beatdown!”
Kyle pulls out his phone and starts to record the action.
Keith looks a little closer at the flying figure. “I don’t think it’s Beatdown. I think that’s the guy he was fighting. He looks kind of small.”
“Who the hell cares?” Kyle questions. “Film it. we need to add this to our blog.”
Keith pulls his smartphone out to also record the fight.
Carlos is worried. He can see that there are a lot of innocent people in danger now. Most are running away, but he notices a pair of teenagers who aren’t paying attention to anything except their smartphones.
“Ah, hell. We’ve got kids out here!” he says.
“I see them,” Karen says. “We’ll keep them safe.”
The vigilante reaches out with his right hand and grabs the bottom of the moving car belonging to the ringleader’s peer. He lifts and flips the car end over end into a parking lot. The car lands on its roof and crushes its occupants to death. The vigilante confirms this by flying high in the sky, then stomping down on the car. It’s easily flattened.
Keith is surprised by the attack. “Whoa! Man, did you see that? Beatdown Jr. is hardcore!”
Keith and Kyle are preoccupied with their recordings as the ringleader drives straight for them.
Karen and Carlos both see the ringleader’s intent.
Carlos gives voice to his concern. “Karen!”
“I know.”
“Stop him!”
“I know!”
The fake Beatdown swoops over, but instead of moving the teens out of the way, he flies straight through the passenger side of the last car. He grabs the man at the wheel and continues to fly out the driver’s side, using the body as a ram.
The hero drops the crumpled body of the ringleader, then flies off. Keith and Kyle finally realize that a driverless car is speeding toward them.
“Shit!” Keith exclaims.
A cop uses a pit maneuver and forces the car out of the way of the two teens. Both cars barely miss them.
Kyle’s face is drained of all blood. “I don’t want to see the movie now. I need a shower more.”
“Yup,” Keith says.
Karen parks her car. She and Carlos jump out. Carlos runs over to the teenagers while Karen draws her weapon and approaches the ringleader’s motionless body.
“You good over there, Partner?” he asks.
Karen doesn’t need to check a pulse, but she still does. As expected, she doesn’t feel one.
“This guy is down,” she informs as she holsters her pistol. She speaks into her radio. “Control, I need a hearse.”
Karen pauses as she assesses the carnage. “Make that several hearses down here. The vigilante killed some more.”
Karen walks over to Carlos and the boys. They excitedly look at their phones.
“Karen, meet my new friends, Keith and Kyle,” Carlos says.
“Are you two alright?” Karen asks as she approaches.
Keith has a wide smile. “Are you kidding? This is the best night of my life! That was epic!”
Kyle takes the violence less enthusiastically. “I’m alright. I just want to go home.”
Carlos says. “We’ll get your parents on the phone. They can come and pick you up.”
Keith appears skeptical. “I doubt my mom will be available.”
Kyle offers a suggestion. “My mom can come and get us.”
Carlos nods. “Okay. We’ve got to secure this place. I want you two to sit in the back of my car until we can get your parents here.”
Carlos escorts the two over to his car and sits them in the back. They compare the different angles on their phones.
“Something tells me that this footage will get our blog a little more respect,” Kyle says.
Keith smiles with his friend.
It’s the next morning. A scowling Sean has been discharged from the hospital. No charges were filed against him.
Power pulls up in his car and motions for Sean to get in.
The two goons sit in the back seat.
Power greets his friend. “What up, Sean? You feeling better?”
Sean maintains his scowl.
Power is annoyed and not inclined to play games. “The silent treatment? Bitch, you better answer me.”
Power leans over and smacks Sean on the side of his head to illustrate his point.
The recently discharged Sean cries out. “Aww! I broke my collar bone, Power.”
Power feels slightly sorry. “My bad. What you mad for anyway?”
Sean seems dumbfounded and annoyed that the question is even asked. “You left us! We got our asses handed to us! Roo Roo died and your bitch ass just left.”
“What? I’m supposed to get got too? We saw Night Terror scoping the place out and we bounced.”
“You left us!” Sean accuses a second time. “I’m in constant pain because you left us!”
“Listen
, man, you get one freebie because you kept your mouth shut. Use it to insult me one more time and see what happens to your broke ass.”
Sean looks like he’s about to say something, but Power stares at the man’s injuries with an unspoken threat. Sean apparently picks up on it and keeps his mouth shut.
“That’s what I thought,” Power states.
The two sit in silence for a moment, but eventually Sean breaks it. “Look, Power, I’m sorry. I’m just scared. That guy beat us like we were nothing. Nothing could hurt him.”
“I know, Sean. The game ain’t safe no more. I think I need to retire.”
Sean looks over his shoulder at the two goons seated behind him. “Why? It looks like you got two bodyguards now.”
Power scoffs. “More like parole officers. They don’t say or do shit except make me feel uneasy. They’re a gift from The Speaker.”
Sean shudders. Power knows he understands the situation.
“You guys got names?” Sean asks the goons, who both ignore him.
Power explains, “You’re wasting your time, Sean. They don’t say anything. I just call them Goon One and Goon Two.”
“That’s ballsy of you,” Sean declares.
Power just shrugs it off. “I figure they’ll only kill me on orders and I doubt name calling will get the go ahead. I’ll change if they ever decide to be social.”
The two continue to drive, but Sean seems confused by the route. “Where are we going? I’d kill for some good food. The hospital doesn’t even try to pretend like they ain’t heating it up in the microwave.”
“I’ll hook you up with whatever you want,” Power promises. “But, first we’ve got to do some recruiting. I’m short pretty much everyone but you. I guess I got the goons, too.”
Sean winces. “Yeah, I feel ya. We going to the usual place?”
“Of course. The well overfloweths,” Power states as he continues driving.
Keith and Kyle sit in Keith’s bedroom and are still energetically talking about the previous night’s events.
“Your mom was pissed last night. I can’t believe she let you stay here,” Keith says.
Bystanders Page 9