by Nate Phelps
“What’s beautiful?”
“The unspoken love between you two.”
Uh oh. “I gotta go Ricky. I’m tired.”
“What are you doing here?” He chased me down the hallway as I tried to leave. “Go after her! Tell her your feelings.”
“What feelings? No, we aren’t doing this.”
“You have to, bro!” He waved a ladle at me. “Girls don’t fake propose to just anybody. She wants you. I should’ve seen it sooner. She was all over you.”
“Really?” I hesitated for a moment. “No, stop. We’re just friends.”
He poked me accusingly with the ladle. “You love her. Deny it.”
“Look, Ricky…”
“Ha! I knew it.”
My face burned. “Could you please go away?”
“At least take your watch.”
I stopped as he tossed a watch towards me. It was mine.
“What the heck?” I put it back on.
“Relax,” he laughed. “I just put my number in and got yours. You two were so wrapped in each other you didn’t even notice. We’re amigos now so we need to hang out more and share news. I’ll see you soon, eh?”
I shook my head as he finally left. “Weirdo.”
Chapter 10
As I headed to my first call the next morning, I took my time. I didn’t feel like dealing with Johnny. Where did we stand with one another? Was he annoyed about me taking the time off?
When I arrived at my destination, Johnny greeted me with a wave and a grin. He was in his full regalia once more, cape majestically flapping behind him. The outfit looked brighter than before, as if he’d polished it. We dropped onto a rooftop so we could speak.
“Kleiner! About time you got here. Don’t worry about this call, it was a false alarm. I just wanted to get you out here.”
Are you serious? I thought.
He clapped his hands and rubbed them together. “Can’t wait to see what they have in store for us.”
I took a step back and eyed him. “You feeling okay? You’re not usually so… cheerful.”
“I feel fabulous.” He laughed and clapped me on the back. It was hard, but it didn’t knock me off my feet like it usually did. Still, I wasn’t buying this façade of his—he was up to something.
Our watches beeped and we looked down in unison.
“Crime downtown,” he said. “Let’s go!”
His strange behavior continued through the day. Johnny made great efforts not to break anything. He planned each jump carefully and landed softly. When we tracked down the criminals (who had seemingly multiplied in our absence), he would round them up quickly and leave them trussed up for the Enforcers. I didn’t file a single claim all morning, and I grew more and more curious.
“Hey, hey, hey…!” Johnny yelled during an altercation between two angry drivers that had collided with one another. He held them up by the scruff of their shirts. “Is this any way to act?”
“No,” they said, sheepishly.
On another call, we infiltrated a building that housed some suspected counterfeiters. Each time he reached a door, he would open it instead of ramming through it. He looked back and gave me a thumbs up. I returned it along with one of my best fake smiles. When he turned back, I squinted suspiciously.
He quickly rounded up the gang of hoodlums. As he was finishing up, he was attacked by an angry thug he’d missed. The burly man jabbed at him with a knife. Johnny stepped out of the way and the thug fell forward, sinking his blade into the wall.
“Look what you’ve done!” Johnny lifted him and shook him. “Have you ever filed a damage waiver before? You think it’s easy?”
“No, I’m sorry!” The man’s head bounced from side to side.
“No, of course you haven’t! How could you understand? Apologize to Cleaner!” He held the man towards me.
“It’s fine,” I said.
“Apologize!” Johnny shook the man harder.
“I’M SORRY!” wailed the large man, sobbing.
The rest of the day continued on in this manner. It didn’t take me long to realize I didn’t like this new Johnny. Sure, it was great to go through nearly a full day with just a single claim, but it was kinda boring. Besides, if Johnny kept up this type of behavior, I’d be out of a job.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” I asked him later as I watched him shoo a cat out of traffic.
“I’m great.” He picked up the cat and began to stroke it affectionately. “Why?”
“Uh…” I shrugged.
Later, we stopped by the Agency for a lunch break and so Johnny could go to some meeting, probably something about Lutosa. I went straight to Sarah’s office and collapsed into one of her chairs.
“Hey,” she said distractedly, as she sifted through files on her computer.
“You look busy,” I noted. “Work backed up?”
“I’m just taking a peek at some of the messages between Midhaven and Lutosa.”
My eyes widened. “Is that legal?”
“Not really.”
“How’d you get them?”
“My mom knows some tricks.”
“Your mom?” I laughed. “But she’s such a sweetheart.”
“Yeah, she’s also a hacker… or software engineer, blah, blah. She used to help break through old firewalls on ancient technology. That was back when she was an agent.”
“Your mom was an Enforcer?”
“Yup. That’s where she met my dad. The Agency runs in the blood, I guess.”
I tried—and failed—to imagine Sarah’s mother in a uniform. All I knew about her was her deep affection for gardening and baking cookies.
Sarah continued to click through the files, her eyes tracking back and forth across the screen. I twisted the friendship ring on my right hand.
“Oh,” said Sarah, leaning closer to her hologram.
I was overcome by curiosity and scooted next to her. “What do they say?”
“Well, they never write down the really juicy details in these messages because of security risks—such as myself—but I’m piecing it together. It seems that Lutosa is denying everything. There’s lots of, ‘You betrayed our trust!’ and ‘Our agreement is void!’ rabble coming from both sides. The usual huffing and puffing one would expect in this situation. I doubt it will blow over, though. We can’t just forgive and forget when they plant a freaking Crawlers nest next to our city.”
I knew I’d never forget.
“By the way,” Sarah looked at me. “Dr. Henry wants to talk to you.”
“He does?” I looked at my watch and realized I’d missed a call from him about an hour ago.
“Go talk to him and then come back and tell me everything.”
“Gosh, you’re nosy.”
“Thank you.”
Sarah went back to her classified message perusing and I left her to it.
Dr. Henry was pouring over papers when I got to his office. As usual, his tie was askew. His computer sat off to the side, looking like it was rarely touched.
He glanced up when I tapped on the door. “Ah, I thought Sarah might see you before I did. Have a seat.”
I sat across from him and twiddled my thumbs as he straightened his papers and set them aside. He looked at me intently. “I want to hear what that man said to you in the parking garage again. Tell me from the beginning."
"Oh! Did you... I mean, yeah sure.”
I went over the whole conversation again—the warning about Johnny and the part about the weapon. There wasn’t much to tell, but Dr. Henry hung to every word.
When I finished, he tapped his pen against his stack of papers and muttered unintelligibly to himself.
“Do you think we missed something?”
He glanced at me. “Why? Do you?”
Up until this point, I’d assumed that we’d solved that mystery. The madman, whose name I’d forgotten, had been trying to warn us about the Crawlers. Thanks to him, we’d put a stop to it.
“Well, he w
as Lutosian, right?” I began.
“We assume so.”
“It seems like he felt guilty about the Crawlers. I think he ran away and came to warn us. Why he thought he had to throw grenades around though, I don’t know.”
“It was the fastest way to get our attention,” Dr. Henry mused. “Although, he hasn’t been very communicative since we took him in. I’ll try to have someone talk to him again.”
There was a pause.
I cleared my throat. “Sir? Do you think that Johnny and I started a war?”
He rested his head on his hand and spoke in a low murmur. “I’ll do whatever it takes to stop a fight. We’ve come too far to start killing each other now. Johnny did what he had to do, but I fear the bond between the cities will never be the same. Even Sanitatem is feeling pressured to choose a side."
I hoped I'd never have to deal with the type of stuff Dr. Henry did. “Johnny’s been acting weird.”
“How so?”
“Like, petting cats and chastising criminals. He hasn’t damaged a single thing today.”
Dr. Henry let out a deep laugh. “Oh, I don’t think that’s too mysterious. He feels bad for almost getting you killed.”
“Really? I didn't think he cared that much.”
“He likes to pretend he’s a hundred-year-old God among men,” he explained. “But when it boils down to it, he’s just as emotionally fragile as the rest of us. You’re one of his only actual friends.”
“Oh.” Friends? I didn't know if that term really suited us.
“Speaking of which, I need a favor.”
“Sure,” I said, sitting back.
“Johnny’s been hiding something for weeks now. Every time I try to talk to him about it, he brushes me off. I need to know what it is. If we are going to war, we need all the cards on the table. Can you try to talk to him?”
I balked. “I mean, I guess…”
“Good,” Dr. Henry looked me in the eyes. “Do it soon.”
Chapter 11
Johnny’s good behavior didn’t stop the next day. The rest of the week continued on in the same manner until Friday. On that day, we got some visitors. Riker and Sam came from Sanitatem. This was partially my doing. I’d been messaging Sam, telling her that we needed to continue our training sessions. Riker was tagging along for fun.
I planned to let her follow Johnny while I watched so I could train on-the-go.
“I’ve been getting better,” she boasted as we got her permits stamped at HQ. “I’m gonna make you look bad. Johnny will be begging to have me.”
I grinned. Something told me Johnny wouldn’t take it as easy today.
Sure enough, his first leap bent an antenna.
“Hey, hey, where are you going?” I asked as Sam tried to chase after him.
“But…” she sputtered. “It’s just a small one. Johnny’s getting away.”
“Exactly! Take a picture, quick! Open a new form and save it so you’ll remember to go back and finish it later.”
Sam scrambled to do what I’d asked, looking up at Johnny, who was disappearing. I was taking an inappropriate amount of satisfaction from watching her struggle.
Riker landed nearby. “Come on, girl. You got this.”
Sam closed the insurance form and boosted off after Johnny. We followed. Johnny left behind some more items for her to attend to. It wasn’t a very cost-effective method of training, but since he’d done such an excellent job recently, I was willing to let it slide.
On the next one (a cracked window), Sam followed the same steps in half the time. We applauded her as we followed. Riker stuck with me, which was a huge relief. I didn’t want our city to look like his.
The first call was a disaster.
Five thugs had tried to rob a bank—in the middle of the day, during Johnny’s hours. They were begging to get beat up.
Johnny went after them in what I would describe as a medium-difficulty level for Sam. She did okay until Johnny tossed someone through a window; her accuracy was still lacking. She also tried to take pictures in the middle of the fight.
It was hard not to join in and help. I gave into temptation once and foamed the front of a car as an especially hefty Lutosian dropped on the hood.
“I got this!” Sam shouted. “I got it!”
She fired a large round of foam missiles. Johnny had to duck as one sailed over his head. He gave me an exasperated look. I shrugged.
Once it was over, I had to remind her twice that she didn’t have to pull up multiple forms if it was all part of the same incident. Sam looked like she was about to cry.
“It’s all right,” I reassured her. “It’s coming along. There’s a lot to remember.”
“Are the bank tellers okay? I tried to do smaller shots.”
“They’re fine,” I reassured her. “Johnny will get them unstuck. That lady’s dog though… I’m not sure where it ended up.”
“She didn’t have to throw her purse at me,” Sam grumbled.
I grinned. “That’s just part of the job.”
I asked Johnny to talk to her about how it went and how she could improve. A week ago, he would have laughed at me for suggesting it, but now, he took Sam aside and they began a busy discussion.
How had he changed so quickly?
“You’re very patient,” said Riker joining me. “I don’t suppose we could do a swap. Just for a few weeks.”
I laughed. “Maybe. That’d be fun. Sam will get the hang of things, though. Maybe she’ll be better than me soon.”
Riker looked dubious. “Your inventions are genius. I keep telling you. Have you considered selling them?”
I had considered it. “Nah, not really.”
“You should. I know some buyers who would be interested.”
“I’ll think about it.”
I was wary of giving away the rights to my creations. Professor Laevis strongly cautioned me about it, saying that I’d have to be careful about the contract. When and if I did sell them, I wanted them to be in good hands.
My watch flashed red. It was a call, but not the normal type. When I pulled up the hologram, it had a red border with exclamation marks. This type was reserved for emergencies. I’d only seen a few of these since I’d begun working with Johnny.
“Something at the gate,” said Riker, reading over my shoulder. “We’d better take a look.”
Johnny noticed the message too and we all headed out together, leaving Sam’s report only partially finished.
When we got to the main gate, we could see a large group of soldiers on top of the wall. They were looking down at something outside.
I followed Johnny onto the battlements. The soldiers parted and I slipped in after him so I could get a look at whatever was happening.
Suddenly, there was a loud crunching sound and the ground vibrated. We looked over the edge of the parapet. Radon was standing on the road in his full armor and red cape. Two full sized trees had been hurled at the gate hard enough to crack and splinter the trunks. I couldn’t see any damage from this vantage point.
“There you are!” he bellowed, loud enough for all of us to hear. I assumed he was addressing Johnny.
“What’s that moron doing?” asked Riker, who had joined us.
“Lutosa has received your message!” Radon continued. “I speak on behalf of all of my people. We have prepared an answer.”
I hadn’t really noticed the large boulder next to him. It was the sort of thing that just seemed ordinary to a normal person. We didn’t see things like that and think of it as something that could be moved quickly.
My eyes widened as Radon took hold of the boulder, which was the size of a truck, and hurled it at the gate. Johnny and Riker vaulted off the edge of the wall. They would be too slow. I aimed at the boulder and pumped my trigger. Massive globs of my solution expanded and rushed out to meet the projectile. They splattered over the front as it descended.
It hit with a massive boom. The soldiers cried out and stumbled. I couldn’t
see if my actions had helped or not.
“Our armies will tear your city down!” roared Radon. “Our alliance is dead.”
Radon turned and leapt away as Johnny and Riker neared him. He disappeared into the forest with them close behind.
* * *
“I saved your life!” I told Sarah. We were in her office and she had quickly abandoned her paperwork to get all the details from me.
She put a hand to her chest. “My hero. I heard there was a dent.”
“Hey, that could have been a gaping hole. Crawlers would’ve poured in and eaten your eyeballs.”
“Ah, do they start with those?”
“Yup, it’s like an appetizer.”
“What did the Doctor say?”
I’d just gotten out of a meeting with him and the Sentinel’s. “He said we’re going to wait it out because we’re hoping Radon came here of his own volition, just cause he was so angry. Maybe things can still be calmed down.”
“Yeah, but what if they can’t?”
I frowned. “Then we’re screwed.”
Sarah tapped the desk and then stood. “I’ve got to bail. There are some things I need to check on.”
“Yeah, you go do that. I’m busy too. Johnny and I are staying out late tonight, to make up for the weird day.”
Sarah pulled on a jacket. “That’s odd, he never does that.”
“He’s changing. This last week has been the easiest of my life. You were right. I just had to pull through.”
“No, I don’t think he’s changing,” she said. “I’m not sure he can.”
I assumed this had something to do with their beef. “I guess we’ll see.”
* * *
Later that evening, Johnny and I sat on the edge of the outer wall, watching the sun set on the forest. Johnny did, anyway. I didn’t want to look at the forest, so I straddled the wall and watched the shadows falling over Midhaven instead.
Johnny glanced at me. “Am I forgiven yet?”
“Yes,” I said. My resentment towards him had dissipated over the course of the week—he’d done what he had to in the forest. The city was safe because of it.
“Good,” said Johnny, turning back to gaze at the sunset again. “I can’t have a partner who’s mad at me.”