Twisted

by J. L. Meyrick

  “You’ve been difficult to track down, Ms Masters,” Sentinel stated, sitting across from her at the table, hands folded in front of Liliana. He seemed relaxed, calm. It was unnerving.

  “I didn’t know you were trying to get ahold of me,” she replied, testing him with a lie. Rose had warned her of course.

  “Well, nevermind. We’re here now, aren’t we?” Sentinel replied.

  “Yes. Here we are,” Liliana replied, trying to seem relaxed as well, sure she was failing miserably. “How can I help?”

  “I wanted to talk to you about our dear Max.” Sentinel was being far too friendly for her liking. Detective Berkowitz sat to the side of the room, watching the two of them while remaining silent. She was simply a spectator to Liliana’s interrogation.

  “What about him?” Liliana asked, unsure of where Sentinel was going with this.

  “Well, he’s of the opinion that you’ve split with him. But I’m not so sure. I’ve heard how close the two of you were before this whole mess happened.”

  “How do you know what he thinks?” Liliana asked.

  “I’ve had my fair share of conversations with him in the past couple of days,” Sentinel replied.

  So, he’s been interrogating Max as well. Liliana hoped it had only been conversations. Without Max’s suit Sentinel could have done some serious damage to him. Was he safe? Was there going to be anything of Max left for her to rescue?

  “Max is right. We have split. He hid too much from me, you can’t expect me to trust him after attacking the city like he did, can you?” Liliana lied. Well, it was partially a lie. She had mixed feelings after everything that had happened, but she was willing to talk it through with Max. To figure out where they now stood. If they could ever get back to the way things were.

  “So, you’re not planning anything? No fancy prison escape worthy of a blockbuster film?” Sentinel knew something was going on. But she wasn’t about to confirm anything for him.

  “Of course not, that would be stupid,” Liliana replied, like she was pointing out the obvious.

  “No lingering desire to see Max?” Sentinel pushed, waiting for her to slip up.

  “Sentinel, I’m a journalist. I have no powers, no money to build special technology. I’m a good person, I wouldn’t want to hurt anyone,” she began. “So why on earth would I try to break a man out of prison, a man I have broken all ties with?”

  Sentinel stared at her as she made her mini speech, taking in her words. Somehow, Liliana kept herself calm as she made her point. She stared him down, waiting for his response.

  “Max has killed people. His actions almost killed me. I want nothing to do with him,” Liliana forced herself to lie again. It was getting harder to say these things. She knew it was Sentinel who tried to kill her. It was likely him that killed the other people, not Max. These thoughts sank in as she stared at him. She was sat across from a killer. A man who tried to end her own life. How was she staying so calm? She was terrified and angry all at once. She stood no chance against Sentinel right now, and he knew it.

  “I’ll let him know you said that,” Sentinel finally replied.

  “Good.” Her heart broke as she replied. She didn’t want to hurt Max. She wanted to understand him. To help him. This was going to kill Max.

  “As you’re so set against Max, you should be happy to hear that there will be extra protection during his transfer. I won’t be the only Super there. Just for peace of mind, you understand,” Sentinel revealed.

  “I wouldn’t expect anything less,” Liliana replied, happy to get some extra information on the move. They could be better prepared now.

  “Thank you for coming down today. You’ve set my mind at rest knowing Max hasn’t tainted your soul as well as his own,” Sentinel ended the interrogation, his voice dripping with false honesty. Liliana was just happy to get away from him.

  Chapter 24

  Rose focused on her computer, sorting through the latest batch of photographs she had taken. She was still working on the rebuild of the city, her latest photos showing the substantial progress that had been made. Sentinel helped a fair bit with the rebuild. He helped speed up the process and got some good press at the same time. Rose was sure that played a big part in his decision to help the builders.

  She had also taken some snaps of the memorial which had been created around the corner from the temporary office they were still working in. The lives that were lost were the hardest part of the fight for her to rationalise. If Max wasn’t the bad guy, why had people died? Sentinel was an ass, but would he let people die if he had the choice? She hoped not. Maybe neither of them was really the good guy. She did not know what to believe. Who to believe.

  “Have you finished yet?” Tim asked, sitting down next to her. He was covering the same stories as her, and she hated it. At least he had finished hitting on her, she had got that point across, thankfully.

  “Almost,” she replied.

  “I’ll grab us some coffees while you finish up,” Tim said, stretching as he stood up. Things had been uncomfortable but civil since his failed attempt at romance the other day. She was thankful that he wasn’t pushing her for anything, romantic or otherwise. He seemed content now to let her get on and do her job.

  She just hit upload on the last image, sending it to the paper’s server, when Tim returned with the coffee.

  “Here you go.” Tim handed over her coffee and something about his hand caught her attention. A glint. Why would that attract her attention? There was nothing special about his hands. No scars, no blemishes. So, what was it?

  She took the cup from him, thanking him as she did so, but her eyes remained on his hands while she tried to figure out what caught her attention. She took a sip as it hit her.

  His nails. They shone slightly. Clear polish. She had seen these hands before. She choked on the sip of coffee as she realised what was going on.

  “You okay there?” Tim asked, chuckling slightly as he patted her on the back, still choking on the coffee.

  “I’m fine,” she sputtered out, looking up at him, really looking at him. It all slid into place for her. She didn’t know how she hadn’t seen it before.

  Tim was Sentinel.

  The only things that were different were his clothes and that his hair was messy when he was Tim. But, somehow, that was all it took to look completely different.

  “I need to go,” Rose said, standing up quickly, dropping the coffee down on her desk as she made a quick retreat. Tim watched her go, a concerned look on his face.

  What was she going to do with this information? What could she do? She couldn’t carry on working with him like she didn’t know. Her mind was racing a million miles a minute. This was too much to take in.

  She needed to tell Liliana.

  But how? She wasn’t replying to her messages. They could meet up, but Sentinel had eyes on her for a while now. No. Tim had been watching her. Tim had been in her home last night. Sentinel asked her out. This was too much to handle. She needed a drink.

  Tim versus Max. No wonder they clashed, they hated each other as themselves and as their alter-egos. She wondered if Max knew who he was fighting. What was Tim going to do if he found out Rose knew? She’d already embarrassed him in front of all their co-workers. Someone egotistical enough to be Sentinel wasn’t going to take that lying down.

  She brought herself out of her thoughts to see that she had walked home without thinking about it. She hurried inside and locked the door behind her, foolishly thinking that might stop Tim if he came after her. She knew it wouldn’t, but she refused to think about that possibility. She wouldn’t stand a chance against him.

  How was she going to go to work and face him now? Go about her normal life knowing who he really was? Knowing where he went when he would suddenly disappear under the guise of researching something for an article.

  Come to it, how did he have the time to be a superhero and the city’s top reporter? Did he sleep? Did he eat? Well, he drank cof
fee, she knew that much. Was he even human? That question had never been officially answered about the Supers. Where did they get their powers from? They had always been extremely private about that information.

  Rose opened the fridge and cracked open a fresh bottle of wine, sure she was going to drink most of it by the end of the day. She shouldn’t be drinking in the middle of the day, but needs must.

  What was she going to do?

  *

  Liliana pulled back into the garage, her heart heavy with regret for what she had said to Sentinel. She knew he was going to use her words to hurt Max, and she hated it. She had to focus on the fact that they were going to set him free, and she could tell him the truth then. Not long left to go.

  She stared out of the windscreen at the concrete wall in front of her. Frozen while her mind and heart worked through the issues at hand. Or at least, they tried to work through. She felt trapped in an impossible situation, unable to move forward without risking everything.

  She knew she had to get Max out, regardless of where they stood. He was innocent, mostly. Innocent enough to warrant the mission and o get him away from the danger Sentinel presented.

  Why her? Why did this responsibility fall to Liliana? Because they ran into one another on that fateful day? The universe had bestowed a crappy path on her. Whatever decision they made going forward with their relationship, she was going to be on the dangerous side of the Supers. There was no way they would not figure out the prison break involved her.

  She was still sitting in the car. She could easily drive away and forget everything. Her hands were on the wheel, the power button a quick movement away should she want to use it. She stared at the wall ahead of her, imagining what her life could be like if she left the mission here and now. She could drive away, start over in a new city, away from Sentinel. Forget Max and the situation he had put her in. She could take Rose with her, start over in a new paper together, the dream team.

  The vision moved to imagine Max, stuck in prison for the rest of his life. Constantly in danger from Sentinel. She couldn’t do that to him. If she left now, Yates and Johnathon would have to start over. It would be nigh on impossible to get to Max after his move. She would put them at risk if she didn’t help. Her heart ached at the idea of leaving Max behind, alone, without knowing if they could have worked through this or not.

  Even if they were to go their separate ways, she needed to know for sure. Resolved to see this entire mission through to the end, Liliana jumped out of the car before she could doubt again, slamming the door perhaps a little too hard in her determination.

  Liliana took the steps faster than normal, racing up to see Yates and Johnathon in the living room, pouring over the plans once again. Johnathon was still catching up on all the work she and Yates had put into the plan. They had made some alterations when Johnathon revealed himself, but the plan worked better now that he was here. His powers made him a valuable friend to have.

  “Ah, you’re back. How did it go?” Yates asked, stopping their conversation with Johnathon as she jogged into the room.

  “Sentinel was there,” Liliana cut to the chase.

  “What? Why?” Johnathon asked, shocked at her revelation.

  “He’d been trying to find me for a while now. He got bored and used the police to track me down,” Liliana replied.

  “Sneaky bastard,” Johnathon replied.

  “You can say that again,” Liliana said.

  Chapter 25

  Liliana could feel the clock working against her. The ambush from Sentinel had set her back, set them all back. There was still so much to do before the mission was ready. She hadn’t finished her training, they needed to collect all the gear they would need, and they still needed some time to rest before it all kicked off. If Johnathon hadn’t arrived when he did, they would have been well and truly screwed.

  They had sent Liliana into the city to gather some supplies, food mainly. Yates was putting the final touches on their suits, and Johnathon was gathering all the tools they would need. He was enjoying exploring the base, just like Liliana did when she first got there. To be honest, there was probably more to be discovered, if only she had the time to explore properly.

  She had run out to the closest supermarket to grab all the food they could need over the coming days, as well as some extras, just to be careful. Nothing perishable. Who knew what was going to happen after the prison break? They might not get back to the base straight away. If anyone looked in her basket right now, they would think she was preparing for the apocalypse or something.

  The LED lights above Liliana shone down like a spotlight. Liliana felt like everyone was watching her prepare for a secret mission. Of course, there was no way anybody knew what she was planning. But that didn’t stop her anxiety from rearing its ugly head against her. She could feel the pressure at the back of her throat, the small voice in the back of her head telling her that everyone knew. That they were going to stop her.

  The air around her became thick as she fell into the thoughts she so desperately wanted to escape. She tried to focus on what she needed to do, but every time someone passed her in the shop, she became convinced they knew what was really going on. They were going to stop her.

  No.

  She tried to fight back against the monster that was her own mind. She reminded herself that there was no way they could know. Everyone believed the persona she had presented to the media. And they all believed whatever the media told them. The dad wrangling twin toddlers around the shop wasn’t out to stop her. Neither was the pair of little old ladies buying milk. They were just ordinary people going about their ordinary lives.

  The air began to cool and release the hold it had on Liliana as she convinced herself that she was fine. She wasn’t being watched, followed. Nobody was waiting for her to slip up. She focused back on her shopping list, quickly realising she should have got a trolley instead of a basket. Good thing she had been doing all those exercises. She was definitely stronger than she was before all this began. She pushed the last bit of pressure at the back of her throat back down as she looked around for the protein bars Yates had requested.

  She turned down an empty aisle and ground to a halt as she noticed the man standing at the other end, walking towards her.

  “Don’t you have anyone to shop for you?” Liliana asked, shocked by the sarcasm showing in her voice.

  “I actually prefer to do my own shopping. Normally more subtle than this, I have to admit,” Sentinel replied with a smirk, coming to a stop a few paces in front of her. He looked in her basket, noting what she was buying. “Stocking up?”

  “You think this is a lot? You should see what my brother went through growing up,” Liliana lied through her teeth, trying to deflect from the obviously sizeable amount of food she was buying. She wasn’t meant to be shopping for more than herself, as far as Sentinel was concerned.

  “Max is being moved the day after tomorrow,” Sentinel stated.

  “I know,” Liliana replied, unsure of where he was going with this.

  “What do you have planned?” No hiding behind that question.

  “For the day after tomorrow? More job hunting, I suppose,” Liliana replied, not giving him anything.

  “That all?” he asked.

  “What else would there be?” she replied with her own question.

  “Nothing, apparently,” Sentinel replied, not breaking eye contact. He was trying to get her to slip up again. Didn’t he learn from the first time? She wouldn’t break.

  They stood there for a minute or two, just staring at each other, each waiting for the other to break. Liliana could hear the hustle and bustle of the shop around them, but no one else was coming down their aisle. No one but her had noticed that the city’s hero was in the local supermarket. The staring contest lasted longer than was truly necessary but soon, Sentinel broke.

  “Good luck with the job hunt,” he said before walking back down the aisle the way he came and disappearing around th
e corner.

  Well, that was the weirdest encounter she’d had with Sentinel yet, she thought to herself. He was convinced she was planning something, but he had no proof. No idea she wasn’t working alone. He was expecting something clumsy, a pathetic attempt at a prison break. He wouldn’t see them coming. Liliana allowed herself a small smirk at that thought as she went back to her shopping, wishing once more she had thought to get a trolley.

  *

  “Get everything we needed?” Yates asked as Liliana dumped her bags in the kitchen.

  “I think so,” she replied. “There was another ambush waiting for me.”

  “What?” Yates popped their head into the kitchen.

  “Sentinel approached me in the middle of the supermarket,” Liliana replied.

  “That’s rather brazen, don’t you think?”

  “Very. He is convinced I’m going to try something on my own,” Liliana replied.

  “You didn’t break, I hope,” Yates said.

  “Of course I didn’t,” Liliana replied as she unloaded the shopping.

  “Good. So, he doesn’t know what’s really going on then,” Yates confirmed.

  “No clue. He’s expecting me to make a blundered attempt at a rescue. He probably won’t be prepared for anything until we’ve already been in and out,” Liliana said, smiling at the thought of Sentinel noticing them when it was already too late.

  “Once you’re done here, meet me in the gym,” Yates ordered, walking out of the kitchen. Liliana shouted her reply while standing on the tips of her toes to store away the food. Someone definitely designed this kitchen with someone taller in mind, but Liliana was too stubborn to use the little footstall Yates had provided.

  Once she finished, she refilled her water bottle and made her way down to the gym, fully expecting a last-minute training session. She wasn’t disappointed as she saw Yates waiting for Liliana on the large mat in the middle of the room.