by Tom Andry
Gale's eyes narrowed, "Okay." She stretched the word out.
She wasn't leaving. Damn.
Checking the street, we ran across quickly to the wall just to the side of the garage opening. I looked back at Gale. She closed her eyes for a moment and then shook her head. That didn't mean we were alone, far from it, but it did mean that she couldn't sense any odd movements of air. I peeked around the corner. Everything looked just as I'd left it. Nothing appeared out of place. I glanced back at Gale. She stepped in front of me and poked her head around the corner. When she pulled back, she looked concerned.
"What is it," I whispered.
"I don't know. Something." She blinked, concentrating. "It's like my power is getting blocked or something."
I stepped in front of her and looked again. Everything still looked clear. Was that Mind blocking her power, or Doe? "If you need to go, I'll be fine. I think it is clear."
Gale shook her head, "No way, Bob. I'll see you inside first. At the very least. Plus, I could use your phone."
I clenched my teeth. She was going to ruin everything. "Okay," I whispered, "let's go."
I walked casually over to the door, careful to step over the gouges that had been left when I had dragged a super dangling out of my car. I really should get those fixed. I kept my eyes moving and, behind me, Gale did the same. I noticed a few puddles of liquid that were probably blood. Mind had been busy. I pursed my lips, wondering what she'd done with the bodies.
I walked up to the security panel and, as expected, it forced me to go through the typical security scan rather than letting me right up. Mind was putting on her "company" persona.
I turned to Gale, "Are you sure you want to come up?"
"Yes, Bob." Gale eyed me quizzically, "Are you trying to get rid of me?"
I took a deep breath, thinking. This was my chance. I could blow her off. I could tell her to go. She'd be suspicious, but she'd leave. And then I'd have Mind back and we could start planning how to deal with Doe. And Nineteen. I could start a new search. Now that I had information about Gideon Sans, I could maybe even cash in that favor from the VP for more information. This could be it. Twenty. But how would Mind react? If Gale became suspicious, would Mind think that I had put her in danger and abandon me? I decided I couldn't risk it.
I shook my head, "Of course not. I just figure you've got better places to be."
After the security system scanned and cleared Gale, we walked up the stairs. The doors closed behind me, sealing off the outside world and any hope for an ambush from Doe. Well, she'd done it. She'd scared Doe and whomever he had with him off. That was inconvenient. I'd have to wait for him to make another move. Maybe show up as a delivery driver.
The door at the top of the stairs hissed open and revealed Doe with some sort of gun held to Leon's head, "Bob, so good of you to be prompt."
After the shock of finding Doe in my apartment faded, I smiled. This was going to be fun.
* * *
Chapter 21
I put my hands up, "Now, before you launch into your monologue, I have a few requests."
Doe lifted an eyebrow, "Requests?"
"Suggestions, really. Shall we retire to my office?"
Doe smiled, "I've scanned your office. In fact, I've scanned most of this place since I arrived. There isn't a weapon anywhere."
"Weapons I don't need. A drink? Now that is a necessity. Plus, you know, chairs and all."
Doe cracked a smile and dipped his head in agreement. He stepped aside, pulling Leon along with him. He was careful to keep Leon between him and us, the silver gun with three barrels pressed firmly against his temple. Leon's eyes were wide, his pointed ears twitching nervously. I smiled at him and nodded. The nod was supposed to say, "It's okay. I've got everything under control," but I was no good at such things. It might have said, "Dude, you are so screwed and I could give a shit." Hopefully the former. His feline face wasn't very easy to read, so I couldn't tell how he took it.
A voice wafted into my ear and, for a moment, my heart raced, thinking it was Mind. It only took a word or two to realize that it was Gale using her power to agitate the air in my ear. Ironically, it sounded more mechanical than even Mind's male "company" voice.
"I expect you have a plan?"
I smiled, keeping my eyes and face forward.
"And it extends beyond getting a drink?"
I glanced at Gale without moving my head and grimaced. Her eyes widened. I smiled.
"You're an asshole." The voice stopped for a moment then added, "Just give me some sort of sign when it is time to do something."
I hid my nod with a cough. I circled my desk and pulled open my drawer. Gale crossed behind me and stood between my chair and the closet where I kept my terminal. I pulled out my decanter of scotch and three glasses. I poured one for myself and looked up at the supers. I was in familiar territory. Me behind my desk. Supers all around that thought they had the upper hand. And me holding all the cards. This was right. This felt like home.
The last few days...hell, few months...felt like a dream. I'd been so focused. So on the edge. I hadn't realized. Hadn't seen it. But now I was back. I was where I was supposed to be. I had a plan, more information than anyone else in the room, and an ace in the hole.
I felt like laughing at the futility of it all. I could think of no situation where Doe could walk out of here with what he wanted. But there were things I wanted. First of all, to know what this was all about. But, more importantly, if my guess was right, Doe would have the answer to the question that had been burning in my mind for months. If I played my hand too strongly, Doe would likely clam up. I'd have to let him think he still had the upper hand.
"Gale?" I turned to my ex-wife, "Would you like anything? I have scotch, brandy, and...it looks like more scotch. I suppose I could mix them, but that sounds fairly horrible."
Gale shook her head tightly, her eyes fixed on Doe and Leon.
"Doe?"
Doe's eyes narrowed, "Scotch. Two ice cubes, if you please."
I frowned, "I'll have to go to the kitchen for ice. If you don't mind waiting..."
Doe smiled.
"Ah. I didn't think so. Neat then?"
Doe nodded.
"So, where should we begin?"
"Let's begin with Doe letting your assistant go," Gale's voice was hard, her power giving it an edge that made it roll like thunder.
I put a hand out, "Now, Gale, let's not be hasty. We're all perfectly safe, right?" I looked at Doe, "Right?"
Doe nodded, "As long as no one tries anything, we'll all be fine." He pushed Leon around the side of my single guest chair and down into it. Doe stood behind the chair with the barrels of the gun pressed into the back of his head. "My drink, please?" Leon passed the drink over his head and into Doe's waiting hand. He sipped it, "Hmm...not bad. Not great, but not bad."
I shook my head, "I had some scotch at Snow that was just fantastic."
Doe nodded, "I've had it. It's wonderful." He pointed a finger at me, "I have to say, Bob, you had me worried on that one."
"What?"
"Going into Proving Ground. That was incredibly reckless."
I sipped my scotch, "It seems that the current situation would indicate that my wellbeing isn't very high on your list."
"Well, that may be true in the long run, but at that moment, I wanted you alive. Just in case I needed you later on down the line." Doe took a sip, "You don't know what sort of strings I had to pull to get the word to Gale after your USB turned red...it was a real pain."
"Um..." I shrugged, "Thank you."
"You really should be more careful, Bob," Doe chided.
"So, my USB locking up and staying on red wasn't you?"
"Certainly not. From what I could tell, it wasn't part of my system at all. Probably a super. Any number of them could manage it."
Did that exonerate Ted? I couldn't tell. But I couldn't see why Ted would have changed the color anymore. Now that it was clear he wasn't behind
the rest of it.
Gale shook her head, "I'm sorry, but am I missing something here? Are you two planning a guy's night out or are we being held hostage?"
Doe and I looked at Gale. Her eyes darted between us.
Doe turned back to me, "She doesn't get it."
I shook my head, "Nope."
The air took a decidedly chilly turn with frost starting to line the pictures in the frames on the shelves.
"Hold on now, Gale," Doe pushed the gun into the back of Leon's head, "Just because we are in a...situation, doesn't mean we can't be civil. Right, Bob?"
I nodded my agreement. More to the point, I needed to get information out of him. Like how to push his buttons. How to piss him off. And other than letting Gale talk, I hadn't seen a crack in his veneer.
Doe smiled, "But we're getting ahead of ourselves."
Gale blurted, "What is this all about, Doe?"
Doe sighed, exasperated, "Please. Could you be less boring? I'm sick of you hero-types and your clichés." He stared her down, "For that, you must wait. And if you say another word, I'll put a bullet in the back of this..." he leaned over to get a better look at Leon, "cat-thing's head."
Gale's jaw shut with a snap, but her eyes were blazing behind her eyemask.
Doe turned to me, "You're wondering how I bypassed your, admittedly impressive, security system?"
I lifted an eyebrow, "I've spent a lot of time and money on my system, so, yes. It had crossed my mind."
Doe smiled, "It was easy enough to get in and get basic access...once I had your assistant here." Gale started to react, but caught herself. Doe waited until she settled down again, "I thought I could hack the rest of the system, but it is being...difficult."
"So that's why you let us out."
"Exactly."
I shook my head, "That's crazy, Doe. All this, for an apartment?"
Doe laughed, "You're joking, right? You're not even a small part of my plan. You just happened to have caught my interest. I got wind of you a while back and was intrigued. You just kept showing up in my businesses. Over and over - Bob Moore, Private Eye. So, I sort of added you to my 'to do' list." Doe took a small sip of his scotch.
A while back. How far back, Doe? How far? "So, you planted the idea in the Vice President's head just so you could get me up to the Super City?"
"Yes. I wanted to get a look at you myself. But then I found out about your apartment." Doe glanced around the room, "It is quite a system you have here. I can't say I'm often impressed, but your security system has done it. It would make a fantastic lair. I had some of my best henchmen working on it. None of them got past even the exterior defenses."
I smirked, "So, that is what those puddles were outside."
Doe nodded, "I don't take failure lightly."
A small sigh escaped. I'd thought that Mind had done that. I was somewhat heartened to learn that my security system hadn't gone homicidal. Though, right about now, a little violence would go a long way. I wasn't sure what she was waiting for, but I was glad she was. Gave me time to pump Doe for information.
"Until Leon let you in."
I glared at my assistant.
"Of course."
"So, now you're here. You have what you want. And yet, you're still holding us hostage. Why?"
Doe's eyes narrowed, "You don't know?"
"I suspect."
"Don't lie, Bob. Admitting that you don't know is the key to knowledge."
"Or, in your organization, a one-way ticket to a bullet to the brain."
Doe's smile was almost wistful, "At times. Yes. It's unfortunate, but it happens."
"You don't have full access," I offered.
"Exactly." Doe looked pleased.
"I'm not sure I'm going to be able to help you with that one."
Doe's gaze darkened, "Can't or won't."
"Can't," I crossed my arms over my chest. "There were all sorts of things I had to do to be made the owner. And the system is keyed to me. It was designed so that ownership couldn't be transferred over at the slightest whim. The original programmer has to come out and reprogram the interface. A programmer, I can't help but point out, that is now trapped in the Super City."
Doe turned his head to the side, keeping his eyes on me, "You're lying." He looked past Gale at the closet where the terminal was housed behind my desk, "In there. There is a computer of some sort. You can use that to give me access."
I shook my head, "I really can't."
I wasn't totally lying. All that crap about programmers and the system being keyed to me was nonsense. But there was no way Mind would allow me, or anyone for that matter, to give any person access that she didn't trust.
"Computer!" Doe called out.
"Affirmative," the male, robotic voice answered.
"What is my security clearance?"
"Privileged Visitor."
Privileged Visitor? What the hell was that?
"Define!" Doe called out again.
"A Privileged Visitor may enter without the owner present, may access non-restricted files, and may disable the defenses as needed."
I'd never heard of any of that. God! I wished Mind would speak to me! I felt a small crack in the foundation of my certainty that I had control of this situation. I ignored it. The plan would work. I just knew it.
Doe locked eyes with me, "Define security clearance, Bob Moore."
"Owner. Full access."
"Define how transfer of ownership may be achieved."
"Owner must manually enter password. Password must be accepted. New owner identified and new password must be defined. System must be restarted."
Doe looked at me. I swallowed.
"Oh." I shrugged, "You learn something every day."
If, in my wildest dreams, I could have envisioned being in this situation, I might have discussed with Mind a cover story. But with her constantly telling me how impregnable she was, I had let stuff like that slide.
"I will say, the bit about the programmer being still in the City? That was good. It would have been perfect had it been true." Doe turned to the super standing mute next to me, "Gale? You've been good. I've decided to give you a reward. Please don't bore me with your questions."
Gale tensed, speaking through clenched teeth, "What's this all about, Doe? What do you hope to accomplish? There is no way you can keep all those supers trapped. They'll find a way. Even if you kill me, they'll find a way."
Doe rolled his eyes and swirled his drink. When she tapered off, he started talking, his voice high and mocking, "You'll never get away with this! We'll stop you! Evil never wins." He stopped, laughing, "Do you know how many times I've heard that? How many heroes swore that they would stop me if it killed them?" He lowered his eyes and his voice, "And do you know what? It did."
I stayed motionless as he spoke. This wasn't for Gale. He was speaking to me. He wanted me to know who he was. But I didn't know what to say. Did he want me to reveal his identity or would he rather do it himself? I didn't mind pissing him off, but I was fairly sure that Leon wasn't the only leverage he had on us. I needed more information, plus I had to know about the clones.
Gale continued, "So why not tell us, then? Why not, since you are so sure of your superiority?"
Even I had to roll my eyes at this one. Gale still thought she was dealing with a normal super. Meatheaded and impulsive. The thing was, I was fairly sure Doe would tell us anyhow.
"When you ask like that," Doe scowled, "it makes me not want to." He turned to me. "Convince me to tell you my master plan."
I sipped my drink and met his eyes. His narrowed as the silence extended. I started counting. By the time I got to twenty-three, he smiled, "I like you, Bob. What I said in the shuttle? That was true. I do like you. You're not like them," Doe motioned to Gale with his drink hand. "You get me."
I laughed bitterly, "I'm not sure that's the compliment you mean it as."
Doe's eyes flashed annoyance. I kept mine level. So there was something under there. Somet
hing that could be poked and aggravated. Good to know.
Doe painted a smile on his face that didn't quite reach his eyes, "Maybe. But take it in the spirit offered. Yes, I do have a plan. And yes, it is brilliant. And," he turned to Gale, "no, your super friends won't find a way out of the City."
It was Gale's turn to laugh, "You think a little blue shield is going to contain them? Tinkerer is there right now, probably taking down your system."
Doe shrugged, "Let him. I hope he does. The only thing keeping the supers alive is that field."
Gale shook her head, "They know better than to lower the shield without lowering the City first. They wouldn't open it that high in the atmosphere."
Doe shook his head, "It wouldn't matter. They'd still die."
I licked my lips, a staggering thought jumping into my head, "Why couldn't Ted find the engines?"
Doe turned to me, his smile wide, "Now, that is a good question, Bob."
Gale turned to me, "What? What do you mean?"
I turned to Gale, "We all thought Ted was just being paranoid. That the City was flying, so of course it had to have engines. And that just because Ted couldn't find them, it didn't mean they weren't there. But what if Ted was right? What if there were no engines?"
Gale shook her head emphatically, "No, Bob. I was there. I saw the schematics. There are engines. Big, massive things that keep the City aloft."
"But have you seen them?" I challenged.
"Well, no. Not in person. But I'm sure they were made. I was even there for some of the tests."
"They were," Doe chimed in, his voice joyous.
I stood and turned to Doe, "Where is the Super City, Doe. Where is it really?"
Doe shook his head, "Now that would be telling, wouldn't it?"
I simply blinked, my hands on my desk, staring into Doe's eyes. Where could it be? I thought back to passing through the barrier. About Gale trying to get back. Were there any clues?
"He's just messing with your head, Bob," Gale grumbled. "Don't listen to him."
I shook my head, thinking. Gale said there were engines. That they were made. Doe confirmed it. But Ted couldn't find them. So, maybe the City wasn't...Tay's underground technology smuggling ring. What had I seen when his super opened his field through the bottom of the City?