by David Bruno
“It’s not a trap if you know it’s there. I don’t know details, so you just need to be ready for anything. Yes, you were to be the inspiration for their army—successful, perfect superheroes. They plan for you two to guide the new recruits.”
“That’s not possible!” cried Vanessa. She threw her hands into the air and knew that she and Benny had no choice but to proceed with the assault. The fever of their training and the promises they’d made began to disappear, leaving only anxiety. How could the two of them possibly stop the Agency’s plans and destroy the lab? They were new to the whole superhero thing and didn’t have the necessary tools or training for such an endeavor. But to listen to her father, humanity needed Benny and her. She could think of no other option and relented, accepting her fate. “Okay, Dad. We’ll be there. Will you meet us there?”
“Of course. I’m already the next town over from the lab. I’ll text you the address for the RV park. Travel safe, heroes.” He hung up the phone and sighed with relief. His daughter and Benny, apparently her new boyfriend, had accepted their mission. Hopefully, they would be smart and strong enough together to take down the Agency.
*****
The new team did some light training that afternoon as they thought about the two days ahead of them. Soon afterward, they prepared for their trip to meet up with Max, who was actually not too far away.
Benny asked Vanessa, “Do you trust your dad to tell us the whole truth, or is he playing us to literally feed us to the Agency? This is our chance to back out. We can go anywhere and avoid this mess—together. We can go overseas, Europe maybe. I always wanted to go to Italy. We can ride a gondola in Venice, babe. Are you convinced this is the right thing for us to do?”
“For all his faults, I’m pretty sure my dad loves me. You too, I suspect. Remember he wouldn’t hand us over directly when they demanded it of him. He knows we’re powerful, more powerful together, and I think he really believes we can do this. He has no other options but us. Like he said, the Agency has a target on his back as well. His days are numbered. You don’t go against the demands of such an organization and be allowed to live very long. Next time, they won’t stop at his knee. So we need to stop them to protect not just the world and ourselves, but my dad as well.” Vanessa couldn’t hold back a snort at their predicament. “No pressure.”
Benny thought for a second. “Okay. But if we do this, we do it right. I just don’t know what to expect when we arrive.”
“Me neither. We need weapons,” she said with a twinkle in her eye.
“Vanessa, my dear, we are weapons.” Benny grinned wryly.
“Okay, Mr. Demigod. We need more than just our powers. I have lots of extra shot and arrows in dad’s RV. I’ll start making a shopping list. My dad taught me some things as a kid—one thing in particular I think we should use. We called them ‘jelly beans.’ They seemed fun back then but make a lot more sense now that we know what he’s been doing for decades, and with whom he’s been doing it. It’s probably illegal to make them. But I guess our mission goes far beyond legality.”
Benny smirked at the name. “What do they do?”
“They’re an incendiary device, like a Molotov cocktail on steroids. Highly dangerous. They could be extremely useful for this mission. They’d make burning down the lab much easier.”
Vanessa composed her list as they drove.
Steel shot
Arrows
Household bleach
A glass pot
Gasoline
Soap
Glass jars with lids
Small piezoelectric generators
She read it off to Benny, who frowned.
“That’s a weird list, Vanessa. Are we going to have Homeland Security after us?”
“Probably. Remember I have an arrest record, so you need to buy the stuff.”
“That’s so hot, babe.”
She turned to him, shaking her head disapprovingly. “Tsk.” Focus, sweetie. “Maybe Dad has some of it in stock in the RV. I suggest paying in cash to make it tougher for the Feds to link the purchases.”
It was as if a switch had been tripped. She sounded more like a mercenary than the girl he’d fallen for.
“Oh, boy. I’m going to jail for sure,” Benny lamented. He checked their progress. “We should be able to meet up with your dad in an hour or so.”
CH 18
ENTER IRONSIDE
THAT EVENING
Benny and Vanessa pulled the motor home into an RV park about 20 minutes outside of Lancaster, California. Vanessa went to meet up with her dad, who had been standing outside waiting anxiously for their arrival. He had a few stitches in his lip where Benny had punched him a couple days before. His lip was still purple, but the swelling had mostly gone down.
“Vanessa, I’m so glad we’re back together.” He reached out with his arms in an attempt to hug his daughter.
She pulled away. “Dad, I’m not ready to forgive you. I just want to get some sleep. We have a lot of work to do.”
Max gazed at his daughter and was forced to agree with her reaction. How could he blame her? “Okay. I made your bed. You can come back to our home away from home. You used to like traveling with me.” Max tried to appeal to Vanessa’s instinctive desire to be with family.
But she was now free of him. She had left the nest and only wanted to be with Benny. “Sorry, Dad. I’m staying with Benny. He cares about me. We’re good together.” Benny was still inside his RV but heard Vanessa speak boldly about her feelings for him to her father. His mind began to wander. What would happen if he lost her during the assault on the lab? What if she lost him? Were they getting too close? Worse yet, what if they failed?
“If that’s what you want,” said Max. His little girl was grown up. The realization cut deeper when he realized he had arranged a mission that was likely going to get her killed. He sighed.
Benny appeared from his RV. “What’s going on here? What are you talking about?” He pretended that he had not heard the discussion between Max and Vanessa.
“Nothing, Benny. I’m tired. Let’s go to bed.” She walked back into the RV, right past Benny.
He glanced at Max, not knowing what to say.
Max returned the look and said, “Be good to her. She’s my little girl.”
Benny nodded. “Of course.”
Inside the RV, Benny found Vanessa softly sobbing. “What’s wrong?”
“I didn’t think it would hurt seeing my dad. But it does. I remember all the things we did when I was growing up and how devastated he was when Victor died. That was real.”
Benny put his arm around her and stroked her hair. “We lost so much. Let’s make sure nobody else has to. I’ll sleep on the couch tonight.”
“What? Why? I thought we were past that. Fine. Be that way,” she snapped.
“Sorry, I didn’t know.” How stupid could I be? All along he’d thought he needed her, never really considering just how much she needed him too. He was only now beginning to understand.
The next morning Benny and Vanessa woke from a light sleep. The thought of the assault taking place the next evening was all consuming. It had not been a comfortable night. They’d tossed and turned and were damp with sweat.
But it was time to go shopping. They needed supplies to make jelly beans. They also needed transportation to the laboratory when the time came. Something nondescript and unlikely to attract suspicion. An RV wouldn’t do.
At Max’s RV, Vanessa asked, “Dad, do you have any jelly bean supplies?”
“Well, I have some glass jars and gasoline. We’ll have to pick up the other supplies.” Max was presumptuous in thinking that Vanessa would take him along to do the rest of their shopping.
She saw right through his attempt. But she needed his help to make the jelly beans. He knew not just the ingredients, but also the proportions and how to build them to be fail-safe. They could either be very dangerous or duds if assembled improperly, and she knew it.
“Alri
ght, Dad, let’s go shopping.”
“Thanks, Vanessa.” He put his arm around his daughter and pulled her close as he kissed the top of her head. This time, she did not pull away but did not reciprocate the affection. He turned his attention toward Benny. “What are you going to do today, Benny?”
“I’m going to get us some transportation. We can’t exactly pull up to the lab in a giant RV. I’d prefer not to attract unnecessary attention to ourselves.”
Max agreed. “Good thinking, Benny. Let’s meet here this afternoon. We need to start building jelly beans. I would like to test a couple of them to make sure they’re reliable. It’s been a little while since I made them. We also need to organize our weapons and, most importantly, come up with a plan.”
*****
Benny had an idea. What if they arrived on motorcycles? Nothing would be cooler than black sport bikes. They would blend into the darkness and fit the profile of the superheroes they had been called to be. But Benny was nothing if not frugal. He knew that he had wealth from the sale of his company, but he was not accustomed to spending frivolously. In fact, the most extravagant thing he’d ever bought was his motor home—and that was by necessity. No, sport bikes wouldn’t do. What if they had to leave the bikes behind? Worse yet, what if the bikes were destroyed? Perhaps scooters were a better choice. Small, cheap, clean, and discreet. Who cared if they were abandoned or destroyed? That was the answer: black scooters.
At the local motorcycle dealer, Benny looked over the scooter selection. There were small scooters from 49 cc all the way to 300 cc. The 49-cc scooters were too small. The 300-cc bikes were a little too big and expensive for this mission. But the 150-cc bikes were just right, the Goldilocks of scooters. Benny showed his motorcycle license and a wad of cash to the salesman and took delivery of two silver bikes, accessory trunks, and helmets. He was proud of his purchase. So they weren’t black. But they were fuel efficient and cool in their own way. Consequently, they wouldn’t need to stop for gas at any time during the action. Surely Vanessa would appreciate the wisdom of his decision.
The salesman helped Benny mount the scooters to the back of his RV. Benny left the dealership happily on his way back to the RV park. But he had one more stop to make before he could return.
Benny was, at his core, a foundryman, whether he liked it or not. One of the specialties of JBMelting was ductile iron. He liked to watch this process in action because the magnesium inoculant burned so brightly. Normal gray iron had a certain percentage of carbon in it. The carbon was responsible for strength but also contributed to the brittleness of the iron. As the iron cooled, the carbon settled in as flecks. Under a microscope, it looked like small black cereal flakes. Ductile iron was different. With the addition of a small amount of magnesium, those little carbon flakes curled up into balls called nodules. This changed the properties of the iron by significantly reducing brittleness. It was more ductile, hence the name—ductile iron.
Vanessa had explained how the jelly beans worked, and Benny reasoned that if he could get his hands on some magnesium ferrosilicon, he could enhance them. The magnesium would allow the jelly beans to burn much hotter, enhancing their lethality and ability to burn the laboratory. In addition, the fires would be virtually inextinguishable. With the jellied gasoline clinging to everything and the intense heat and light, the jelly beans would be formidable weapons.
The Internet revolutionized everything, including the ability for a recovering foundryman to get his hands on some magnesium ferrosilicon. As it turned out, the task was not too difficult. He found a ductile-iron foundry within a two-hour drive, chatted up the owner, and got his hands on a free coffee can full of the material he needed. He also made a new friend in the process.
On the drive back, Benny had time to think. Sure, spending time with Vanessa had been good. In fact, their time together had been great by many measures. She was drop-dead gorgeous, liked Star Trek, and already acted as if they were soulmates. But as he thought more, Benny came to the conclusion that until now, he hadn’t truly had more than a handful of good days since before his dad told him that he was sick. Each of those days had involved Vanessa. Surely, if his dad could see him now, he would be proud. Benny had a mission and a purpose.
*****
Benny pulled his RV into his parking space next to Max and Vanessa. It was about five in the afternoon. Vanessa and her dad had returned from their shopping trip before him and were presumably making jelly beans. He was just as anxious to see a demonstration as he was to get some dinner. Benny knocked on their door, fidgeting with anticipation. “Hey, guys, I’m back. Wanna see what I got?”
“Come on in, sweetie. I think you need to see what we have first.”
“Hmm,” he thought. She’d burst his bubble. But the jelly beans must be amazing. Benny entered Max’s RV and saw Vanessa holding up a suit. It appeared to be much like a leather motorcycle suit. It was steel gray with black inseams in the pants, and black from the underarms to the waist, designed in such a way as to enhance the V shape of his muscular torso. Then he noticed it—the chrome accents.
“Do you love it?” she asked with a giant, childlike grin on her face. She bounced on her toes as she held the suit up high for Benny to get a clear view.
“Umm. When did you get this, and what’s the deal with the chrome shoulder pads, fringes and stuff?”
“I bought it this afternoon. Dad and I got the stuff for the jelly beans really quickly and I had some time. When I got it home, I thought it was too boring being just black and gray. It needed style. So I bought some chrome fabric and sewed those parts myself. It’s awesome, don’t you agree?” She smiled proudly at her handiwork and was certain Benny would love it. It was just the kind of superhero statement she thought he needed to take down the Agency.
Benny walked over next to Vanessa. He lightly brushed her cheek. Vanessa closed her eyes in anticipation of a kiss or some gesture of appreciation.
“Vanessa, I appreciate the thought very much. But don’t you think this looks like something Roy Rogers would have worn to enlist in the KISS Army?”
Max, who had been sipping a cup of coffee, overheard and snorted so hard that his beverage shot out of his nose. Coffee and mucus coated his upper lip.
“Ahh, man! Dang it, Benny. What a mess.” Max shook the drops off his hands and walked away with a napkin over his nose.
Benny looked toward Max and proudly snickered at his own joke and what he’d made Max do. As he turned back to Vanessa, he expected her to be laughing as well. She was not. Instead, she stared at him with puppy-dog eyes welled up with tears.
“I worked hard on this for you.” Her demeanor rapidly changed from hurt to rage. She threw the suit to the floor and stomped into the bedroom.
“What did I say?” Benny asked with a shrug.
Benny was indeed a man with a total lack of empathy, a typical guy. “Don’t talk to me. You’re an ungrateful jerk!” She slammed the bedroom door between them.
Benny picked up the suit to examine it. It wasn’t altogether overly flamboyant. In fact, it was kind of cool, with the exception of the chrome accents and fringes. If they were removed, he would wear the suit.
“You’d better go apologize to her. She may sulk for days,” Max, who’d walked back into the living area from the kitchenette, instructed Benny.
“Alright.” Benny picked up the suit and went to see Vanessa, who was sitting on her dad’s bed. Her arms were folded and she had a distinct pout on her face. She’s so adorable. He rightly knew better than to say anything about that for fear of making the situation worse. He was learning, albeit slowly. She ignored his presence as he sat next to her. “I’m sorry. I appreciate the work you did for me. I’ll proudly wear it on our mission.” He put his arm around Vanessa and kissed her on the cheek.
A small grin appeared on her face as she finally saw what Benny had realized right away: the chrome accents were silly and way too gaudy.
“You’re right, Benny. I think I can take t
he chrome stuff off.”
Benny beamed. “Can you?”
“You’re still a jerk.” She put her head on Benny’s shoulder and laughed. “Sewing really isn’t my thing, I guess. But I’m leaving the belt. You need a belt anyway, and you’re keeping the chrome one.”
“Deal. I’ll wear it proudly. Do you want to see my surprise now?” asked Benny. “We have secret superhero transportation. I bought a couple bikes.”
“Really?” Vanessa squealed. “What kind? Ninjas? Hayabusas?”
“Better. Come see.” Benny led Vanessa out of Max’s RV and to his. As they peered around the back, Vanessa caught a glimpse of their new rides. Her smile turned upside down.
“You didn’t buy scooters, did you? How are we supposed to be heroic on scooters?” She examined the bikes. Benny didn’t even have the decency to buy the big ones. She hissed at his poor choice. If we’re to die on this mission, we could at least have motorcycles as awesome as our suits.
“Yeah. Think about it. They’re cheap, efficient, and who cares if we have to leave them behind? Nobody will ever suspect the scooter riders.” He laughed with pride at his pragmatism.
“After this is over, assuming we survive, we’re going to check your testosterone level,” Vanessa quipped as she turned away and stormed back into her dad’s RV.
“I take it that you don’t like them,” Benny muttered. He followed her into the RV.
Back in her father’s RV, Max was in the main living area and had lined up a dozen glass spheres, each measuring about three inches in diameter. They had a hole in the top that would normally be for a cork. Instead, each was plugged with a piezoelectric spark generator from a gas grill. The fluid inside each was a different color—green, blue, red, purple, orange. These were the jelly beans.
“Max, I presume these are our secret weapons. Why are they different colors?”
“Don’t you know anything? Jelly beans come in lots of colors. So do these. They’re as whimsical as they are dangerous. Vanessa liked all the colors when she was a little girl, so I colored these. But we only have a dozen of them. I think we need to test a couple just to make sure they work as advertised.”