There was a second of dangerous silence following her words. Then Val glanced up—still somehow seeming to look down on her. “Who’s the bird lady?”
“Um,” I said, “This is—”
“The woman who’s been comforting your daughter for the past month as she cries herself to sleep,” Jocelyn answered. “And now you’ve got a chance to go back to her and all you can say is ‘Sorry, my evil dad is more important.’ Who the hell do you think—”
“Okay!” Julio said loudly, placing himself physically between the women. “Time out. Blue Sparrow, let’s have a little talk—way over there, please.”
As he hustled the protesting woman away, I looked back at Val, whose cheeks were red. I felt a flash of worry for Jocelyn’s safety.
“I don’t want to do this,” Val said in a low, hoarse voice. “It’s killing me. But if the choice is between seeing Elisa now or making sure Dr. Sweet will never, ever hurt her again… I’m going to protect our baby girl, Dave.”
“I understand that,” I said softly. “But your father. He’ll know.”
“He’s not aware right now,” she said. “Kill the lights before you go. I’ll swim to the bottom of the pool before I let him out. With any luck, he’ll think someone knocked him in, and he got disoriented. Then you can give him some cheesy line about getting him next time and retreat.”
I squeezed shut my eyes, trying to take a deep breath, but my lungs wouldn’t expand. Val put her hands on my shoulders and gave me a firm kiss. “I’ll be okay.”
“Make sure you are,” I said in a hoarse voice, “Do whatever it takes.”
She nodded, and it took a few moments before I could tear myself away from her eyes. I grasped the railing with my left hand and awkwardly pulled myself up, not letting go of Val’s hand with my right until the absolute last second. Julio grabbed my sleeve and helped me climb out of the pool and over the railing. Behind his mask, his brow was scrunched up with worry.
“Before we go,” he said, looking at Val. “Nic—Agent Lagarde. Have you seen her?”
Standing a few feet away, Jocelyn tensed, listening intently.
“Once,” Val said. “With Dr. Sweet. It was a few days ago, and she looked like she was okay.”
“Was she…” Julio swallowed. “Did it seem like she was under mind-control or being coerced?”
Val was silent for a moment. “No,” she said finally, “but Dad was only with her for a few minutes.”
Julio nodded absently, his eyes distant. Jocelyn rubbed her arms like she was cold.
“The lights,” Val requested.
“Right.” Julio looked up, and I felt a wave of heat even though it wasn’t directed at me. The overhead lights sparked as the metal around them warped and melted. As they went dark, I looked at Val one last time.
I love you, I thought.
I love you, too, she replied.
The room went black, and I heard a splash as she dove underwater. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the darkness, the only light coming through the cracks around the doorway we’d entered through. Julio scooped up my cane, handed it to me, and then started dragging me in that direction, knowing I’d be reluctant to leave. (He’d always been a smart one.)
When we were almost at the door, another splash reached my ears, followed by coughing. Mr. Lucifer had resurfaced.
“I’ll free her!” I shouted, remembering the plan. “Don’t get comfortable in her body, because you won’t be there for long. I swear it!”
Julio pulled me through the door, and we made our getaway, leaving my wife behind.
Chapter 10
“How could you just leave her?” Elisa demanded.
We were sitting in the back of the van, Eddy driving us away from the plant. I was still dripping wet, trying to remember the feel of Val’s touch on my skin. She was okay. That’s what I needed to focus on, not on how she was alone now, a spy in her own body taking an insanely dangerous risk. How could I have left her there? I should have done something more, persuaded her somehow.
“It was her decision,” I said, no real force in my voice. “I don’t like it either, but she thinks it’s the best way, and…” I sighed, rubbing my face. “She’s not wrong.”
“Yes, she is.” Elisa hugged her knees, looking away. “It’s a stupid plan. You should have made her come back.”
She didn’t speak to me again for the rest of the ride, and when we made it to the safehouse, she went straight to her room and closed the door.
“I’ll talk to her,” Julio said.
“I’ll talk to her,” Jocelyn said. “You really should’ve just let me kidnap her mom. We’d all be a lot happier.”
“I’m sorry, what?” I asked intelligently.
Jocelyn shrugged. “I wanted to inject her with exatrin and dragged her out whether she wanted to go or not—which is what I’d hope you’d both do if we come across my mom.”
“Completely different situation,” Julio said. “And I was doing you a favor. You don’t know Val. She’s terrifying.”
Jocelyn raised her eyebrows. “If you think I couldn’t manage it, maybe you don’t know me,” she said, and sauntered down the hall.
Julio stared after her for a moment, then shook his head as if to clear it.
“I’d pay good money to see that fight,” Eddy said with a chuckle, locking the deadbolt on the door behind us. Then he adjusted his grip on his crutches. “I’m about to call Sonia and Bianca and let them know about Val,” he told me, “if you want to talk to them, too.”
I debated going after Elisa and trying to get her to talk before deciding that would be more effective after she’d had time to cool down. I’d leave it in Jocelyn’s hands for now.
“Sure,” I said, “I’ll be along in a minute.”
Eddy hobbled down the hall, and I gaged Julio’s mood. “You two gonna be okay?”
He blinked as if he hadn’t realized I was still there. “Me and who?”
“You and Jocelyn,” I clarified. Then, seeing his expression, I quickly backtracked. “Sorry, I thought—”
“No.” He waved off my apology. “I’ve thought about it, too—a lot. But we talked about it, and things are complicated enough right now without trying to start a relationship in the middle of it all.” He rubbed his neck. “Besides, I’m charge, because… Well, we decided someone has to call the shots, and I have two years’ seniority over her, but I don’t think I could give her orders if we were dating.” He paused. “I can barely give her orders now.”
Seeing how miserable he looked, I tried not to smile. “Don’t give up on her completely. You’ll have a chance when this is all over.”
“Yeah, maybe.” He shook himself. “I dunno. Remember back when I told you I wasn’t your sidekick anymore, and I should be calling the shots?”
“I do,” I said. It was hard to forget being served that particular slice of humble pie.
“Well, I was an idiot. Being in charge sucks.”
I laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. “It does. But you brought your team home safely tonight, and we’re one step closer to stopping the bad guys. That’s A plus leadership in my book.”
Leaving him slightly more cheerful, I followed Eddy down the hall. He’d settled in the living room, and I hated how his face tightened in pain as he lowered himself gingerly into an armchair. But then, cane in hand and a collection of injuries on my body, I probably looked no better.
He put his phone on speaker, its ring filling the room. Val’s sisters, Sonia and Bianca Belmonte, were better known to the world as Bella Morte and Lady Nightmare. I wouldn’t want to get on their bad sides any more than I’d want to get on Val’s, but they took care of family. It was a groggy Bianca who picked up, and after Sonia joined her, Eddy gave them a quick rundown of everything that had happened over the past day. He was met with a lot of enthusiastic profanity.
“Wait, so Dave’s awake?” Bianca asked.
“Hey, Bianca,” I greeted.
More
excited swearing came over the speaker.
“About damn time.” Sonia tried to keep her voice light and airy, but it quivered with emotion. “Typical hero. Always sleeping on the job.”
“I’m awake and onboard now,” I said. “How are things on your end?”
“A mess,” Sonia said with a noisy sigh. “All we have time to do is run around putting out fires.”
“Literally, in some cases,” Bianca added. “Dad burned down one of my headquarters last week.”
“I’m going to kill him,” Sonia growled. “I’m going to kill him deader than my last two husbands.”
“Whose deaths she had absolutely nothing to do with, if anyone’s wiretapping this conversation,” Bianca added.
Sonia huffed. “He’s using Val’s reputation to expand his empire. He’s made overtures to the powerful families like the Tsubakis and De Rosas, and he’s firebombing the rest of the competition—or mind-controlling them into killing each other. I doubt he could pull it off as Mr. Lucifer, but the underworld is positively abuzz over the Black Valentine’s return.”
“They all want a piece of the action,” Bianca confirmed. “Or they’re scrambling to find a bunker to lay low in. We’re doing our best to sabotage him, but it’s not easy. And now we have to worry about him drugging the tap water, which is just fantastic.”
“We’ll have to trust Val can find out what he’s planning,” I said. “Then we’ll know exactly where to target to hurt him the worst.”
“Maybe…” Sonia hesitated. “I just hope Val knows what she’s doing. Nobody was ever able to read Dad’s mind when he was in his own body. How’s she supposed to fight him mentally when he’s in hers?”
“If anyone can do it, it’s Val.”
I hoped I sounded more confident than I felt. The exact same worry consumed my thoughts.
“Dave’s right,” Bianca said. “…and I think that’s the first time I’ve ever said that. He’s never been right before. We should congratulate him.”
“Congrats,” Eddy said with a grin.
I gave him a flat look. “Ha ha.”
“Yes, yes, congratulations. This is all very witty,” Sonia grumbled. “But is the plan really just to sit back and wait for Val? We have to do something more proactive. How is the DSA dealing with this? Do they know?”
“I have a colleague who brought them evidence of it.” I should really check in with Moreen, now that I was thinking about it. “Hopefully, she can convince them to open an investigation, but…” I took a deep breath. “We think the DSA might be compromised, so there’s no guarantee.”
“The feds are useless, anyway,” Bianca said.
“So that’s it, then?” Sonia’s voice turned high-pitched. “We’re not even going to warn people that he’s drugging who knows how many water plants across the country?”
Eddy raised his eyebrows at the phone. “I didn’t realize you were so concerned about public safety.”
“I’m not! I’m concerned about my safety! I don’t want to ingest a drug that will break down my telepathic shields when the ice in my cocktail melts. Or worse, sit in a restaurant where everyone else has already been drugged, and Dad mind-controls them into ripping me apart like a swarm of zombies!”
“Okay, okay,” Bianca said. “You’re right. We should probably do something about that.”
“I could try contacting the press…” I mentally ran through the list of journalists I used to have a professional relationship with. I hadn’t kept in touch with any of them since my retirement, but it was worth a shot.
“No,” Bianca said. “I’ll handle it.”
“Um.” I tried to think of a way to phrase this that wouldn’t make Bianca give me telepathic night terrors the next time she saw me. “You don’t think the story would seem more trustworthy coming from a former superhero?”
“Sure—if that’s what I was going to do. But I’ll just release a video saying I’m drugging the water supply with a nightmare-inducing hallucinogen. That’ll put everyone from the DSA to local police on alert, and the treatment plants should up security and triple-check all the water they’re pumping out.”
I blinked. “That’s… That’s not a bad idea.”
“I know. Criminal mastermind, remember?”
I leaned forward in my chair. “But I don’t like how it’ll divert the DSA’s resources away from Mr. Lucifer and waste their time looking for you—which is a big risk, by the way.”
“If Dad keeps burning down buildings and shooting up rival gangs in Val’s body, the DSA aren’t going to stop hunting the Black Valentine anytime soon,” Bianca argued. “This’ll throw a wrench in Dad’s plans. It’s risky, yeah, but I’m no stranger to evading the DSA.”
I leaned back, mulling it over. I could picture a few different things going wrong, but if Bianca could warn people about the threat to the water supply…
“When people realize it’s a hoax, your reputation will take a hit,” Sonia pointed out.
“Are you kidding?” Bianca replied. “People will blame me for every regular old nightmare they have. Honestly, I should’ve thought of this years ago.”
“Mr. Lucifer won’t expect it,” I said. “If you’re willing to take the risk… Well, I’ll wish you luck. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”
I was quickly assured my help wasn’t necessary (Ouch.), and we said our goodbyes, each side bidding the other to be careful. I went and found Julio after, briefing him on Bianca’s plan. He had concerns about Mr. Lucifer taking advantage of the situation to pin everything on Lady Nightmare but agreed it was probably the best way to warn people. By the time we finished discussing it, Jocelyn emerged from Elisa’s room. I looked at her hopefully.
“She’s not mad at you,” Jocelyn said, settling on the couch next to Julio. “She’s mad at the situation and missing her mom. She just needs time.”
“Thank you,” I said. “And not just for this. You’ve been supporting her a lot over the last month.”
“Happy to do it. She’s a great kid.” She glanced around. “Now, what’d I miss?”
We quickly caught her up.
“So Lady Nightmare will alert everyone to the whole drugging the water thing, and we’ve got the Black Valentine trying to find out Mr. Lucifer’s bigger plan.” Jocelyn folded her arms. “So far so good, but please tell me we’re not going to sit here while the supervillains do all the work—no offense, Eddy.”
“I’m taking offense anyway,” he replied.
“No,” Julio said. “With them focusing on Mr. Lucifer, I think we should turn our attention to Dr. Sweet.”
Blue Sparrow shifted towards him. “Good. Now, how do we find him?”
“No idea.” Julio put a hand to his head. “I was thinking we could work with Moreen Lee again. She’s tracked down his labs twice now, even if she hasn’t found him. That’s a starting point.”
“Moreen could definitely give us some insight,” I agreed. “But if she had any solid leads on Dr. Sweet’s location, she’d already be following them up.”
“You have another idea?” he questioned.
I nodded. “You’re not going to like it, but… We should see the Prophet King.”
“The same Prophet King who tried to have you murdered in your hospital bed?”
“That’s the one,” I replied in an even tone to his raised voice. “He knows this city—at least the criminal elements of it. Val goes to him for intel all the time.”
Eddy scowled. “And last time she did, he drugged her and tried to deliver her to Lucio. I’m with the kid.” He nodded at Julio. “We can’t trust him.”
“Maybe not, but isn’t it worth a try?”
“You’re really not pissed off about how he tried to murder you?” Eddy demanded.
I shrugged. “If I held a grudge over that kind of thing, I’d have never married Val.”
“Agreed,” said Jocelyn. “Not about grudges, because I’ll hold those until the day I die, but if the Prophet King can
help us find Dr. Sweet and help my mom, then we have to take the chance.”
She gave Julio a piercing look as she spoke. He held her gaze for a long moment.
“Mr. Lucifer kidnapped his kids,” he reminded us. “He’ll try to trade us for them.”
“Maybe,” I said. “Or maybe he’ll work with us, because we’re the best chance of getting them back.”
Julio sighed. “We’ll give it a shot. How do we contact him?”
I looked to Eddy. He stared us all down before rubbing his face and muttering about crazy superheroes. “Alright, alright, I’ll call him. But not at this hour. I’ll do it in the morning—later in the morning.”
Julio glanced at the clock, which showed it was nearly two a.m. “Fair enough.”
We all got ready for bed after that. On my way back from the bathroom, I stopped at Elisa’s door. I didn’t want to end the day with her angry at me, but what if trying to talk to her made it worse? Or was that irrational fear talking? I raised my hand to knock, lowered it, then raised it again. She needed time. Jocelyn had said it, and I’d thought the same thing earlier. If I didn’t follow my own advice, I should follow hers.
I walked away and tried to get some sleep.
Chapter 11
The air carried the scent of saltwater and the sound of waves crashing against the shore. People in swimsuits and summer clothes strolled about, talking and laughing and blissfully ignorant of the threat Dr. Sweet posed. The restaurant the Prophet King’s people had designated for the meeting was literally right on the beach. It made me wonder how the place survived hurricane season.
I stepped inside but didn’t have to give up the view. The entire far wall was glass, showing crystal blue water dotted by white sailboats and yachts. There was a patio outside with umbrella-covered tables, but it was too hot for anyone to take advantage of it. I told Jean-Baptiste’s name to the hostess, who swallowed and led me on a path between tables and beneath chandeliers to a private room. It had modern art on the walls, luxuriant curtains on the windows, and a round table in the center where the Prophet King sat, alone, waiting for me.
The White Knight & Black Valentine Series (Book 5): Superhuman Disaster ( Page 8