He looked into her eyes for a long moment; they swirled with blue and a bit of green, and they were bright enough he felt he could read a book if she were standing over his shoulder in the dark. He reached out and took her hand.
“The life you lead, I can only imagine how lonely it is. I won’t judge you, Madisun. You’ve done what you had to do, and even if I wanted to arrest you—which I don’t,” he said quickly as her hand tensed under his, “the truth is, I can’t. You’re already in prison and the government would never, ever admit that it wasn’t you. I guess you get a pass... this time.”
She smiled, scooted her chair closer and reached out to touch his face. “Then, Roy, I guess there is only one thing to do,” she said, pulling his face close to hers. Their lips met and he sighed in contentment. At first, the kiss was tentative, filled with the nervousness of and wonder of that first moment where two lips met having never felt each other before, but then the intensity grew and soon their tongues dueled for supremacy in a battle with no losers, only winners.
“Get a room,” someone yelled, breaking up the moment. Madisun pulled back, looking down and blushing as she moved away. Roy felt his own cheeks heat up. What had started as a gentle kiss had turned far more passionate than either had intended.
“Well then,” he said with a cough. “I guess you are free to go. Would you like to have dinner with me again?” he asked, daring to hope she said yes but also wanting her to say no.
“Yes, I would love too. But how about breakfast instead? You’re off at three in the morning, aren’t you?”
He nodded. Madisun leaned forward and left a hot kiss on his cheek before standing up and heading for the door. He watched her go, willing her to look back at him.
As she approached the elevator, she did, looking over her shoulder and shooting him a wink.
“I’m doomed,” he muttered.
✽ ✽ ✽
“I’m doomed,” I muttered to myself while waiting for the elevator. My stomach was still doing flip-flops from that kiss.
I pushed the button and the lift dinged and opened. The man standing there looked at me and blinked. His face was burned into my brain and I seriously thought about killing him right then and there.
“Hey there,” he said with a smile. I smiled back, wanting to puke as I stepped onto the elevator. He stayed, and I noticed none of the other buttons were lit up.
I reached past him and pressed the garage button. “What floor?” I asked with as much fake sweetness as I could.
“Garage,” he lied.
He either knew who I was, or he was trying to hit on me without knowing. I did look different than I used to. Slightly younger, with a head full of dreadlocks instead of the long straight hair I wore when I returned home to New Orleans.
But I thought he knew who I was.
“You enjoying Phoenix, Detective Franklin?” I asked sweetly. He jerked to the side, pulling the pistol he carried over his appendix, fast-draw style. I, however, didn’t move.
“You bitch. You just couldn’t leave well enough alone, could you?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I said over-dramatically.
“You may be fast and strong, but you’re not bullet proof. You make a single move, and I will put one in your heart before you can blink.”
I nodded. The elevator had cameras, as did the parking garage. I didn’t want to do anything while they were recording.
“What’s your plan?” I asked. Did he work for the cartel? Or some other group?
“We’re going to go to the garage, get in my car, and go for a little drive. There are some other loose ends being tied up as we speak and I’ll let the cartel deal with them—and you. After that, well it won’t really matter to you,” he said with a leer.
“Oh no,” I said with mock fear. “I guess you got me.”
“Shut your pie hole and just do what you’re told. Dead here or there, doesn’t matter to me.”
I mimed zipping my lip. I was just going to kill him as soon as we were out of sight of the cameras, but if there were other loose ends... I needed to know what those were.
CHAPTER 21
The apartment I drove him to was part of a complex on the north side. By the time we arrived the sun was long set and the evening darkness was setting in.
He slid out of the passenger side, keeping his gun on me the whole time. I went ahead of him, following his directions. The apartments were the crappy kind with the stairs on the outside. We went up to the third floor and all the way to the end. He had me knock on the door.
It swung open and strong hands reached out and grabbed my hair, jerking me inside and throwing me against the wall. I hit with a thump and slid down, not even trying to stop myself.
I scanned the room while the big bald man who had grabbed me argued in terse whispers with Franklin. The end of the small entryway split into the kitchen to my left and the living room to my right. The living room was trashed as if a small fight had happened. Which it had. Tied to a dining room chair, with her face a mass of bruises, was Roy’s partner, Sara March. Her shirt was torn and I saw bloody stripes where someone cut on her. One eye was only half open, the other swollen shut from the bruising. The only reason I knew she was alive was my Wraith sight.
They were waiting for me? Or were they waiting for Roy?
I dialed my hearing up to listen to them.
“This is the woman who killed your men at the drop. Her name is Madisun Dumas—the Wraith,” Franklin said.
“You’re kidding me. One woman killed a dozen men?” the bald man said before looking at me.
I smiled at him.
He was antsy. The other two of his men, flanking March, were antsy too. Something had them spooked. I liked to think it was me.
“She’s supposed to be dangerous, but... she came here easy enough,” Franklin said.
The bald man came and towered over me. “Get up,” he said in a heavily accented voice. I complied, pushing myself up the wall. “Who told you about the drop? Who helped you?”
“Maybe you should call your boss? He might have more info,” I told him.
He slapped me hard across the face. I let him.
“Tell me, or end up like her,” he said, pointing at March. He grabbed my chin and forced my face to look at her and back to him. “There are worse things than death,” he said.
I let out a short chuckle. “Yes there are, and you should fear them.”
“I fear nothing,” he said with a painful squeeze.
“Men like you would think that.”
My eyes flashed blue as I let the power flow through me. His went wide before I stomped on his foot. The crack of bone was audible in the apartment. I leaned into him, running him down the hall and into Franklin. The detective tried to get out of the way but I launched baldy at him like a rocket. The two men slammed together, then into the door. I was on Franklin, pulling his Glock from his hand and firing two rounds into the baldy’s back. One split his spine and he screamed, the other hit his heart. I turned, running back down the hall, firing through the wall at head level.
I hit the end of the hall and rolled. Return gunfire lit up the kitchen as they fired full auto machine pistols at me. I threw the empty gun at the first guy and charged in right behind the makeshift projectile. The second man clutched his throat where one of my bullets had torn a hole through the fleshy bits.
The pistol hit the man in the face, eliciting a scream from him that I silenced with a punch to his throat, followed by an uppercut that snapped his head backward.
I finished him off with a spin kick that sent him halfway through the living room wall. The guy I shot in the throat tried to bring his gun up; I reached out and took it from him, staring him right in the eyes as he slowly bled to death until he fell to the ground, the last of his life leaving him in a puddle on the shag carpet. I used his gun and put two rounds into the guy sticking out of the living room wall.
Then I walked back into the hallway. Frank
lin was trapped under the big man, he heaved, trying to shift the body off to reach his backup piece. I put a foot on the back of the dead man and pushed down. Franklin yowled as I crushed him.
“Why? I never hurt you,” he said.
I put the gun to his head. “You’re a cop, you bastard. You’re supposed to protect and serve. You’re supposed to help the helpless. Instead you prey on them. Well, time’s up.”
I pulled the trigger until the gun was empty, tossed it on the floor, then went back to the living room to check on March. Her one eye was wide with fear. Raising up one hand to calm her down, I used the other to untie her and pull out the makeshift gag they had used.
“It’s okay,” I said.
“Who are you?” she whispered, shaking, almost sobbing.
“Ask Roy,” I said then stepped back into the shadows and disappeared.
✽ ✽ ✽
Roy arrived at his partner’s apartment ten minutes after he got the call, running his lights and sirens the whole way there. Before the car was barely in park he leaped out and ran up the stairs, past the uniformed officers and the fireman. He took the corner, scooted by the two bodies in the entryway, and then down the hall into the kitchen.
There she was, sitting in a chair while the EMTs did their best to patch her up before they transported her to the hospital.
He ran to her, kneeling down and placing a hand on her face, but then retracting it as there was no place to touch her that wasn’t hurt.
“Sara?”
She gave him a trepidatious smile. “Hey,” she said quietly.
He looked back at the living room as the crime scene techs removed a man from her wall. “What happened?”
“A woman, she came in with someone, they tried to threaten her and then... then they were all dead and she cut me loose.”
“What did she look like?” he asked, knowing the answer before she told him about the glowing blue eyes and the dreadlocks.
He hugged her gently, not wanting to make things worse before he nodded to the EMTs to go ahead. They laid her down on the stretcher and wheeled her out. He squeezed her hand as she left, letting her know it would be okay.
Once she was gone he went back through the apartment, looking at the mess. It had to be Madisun. When he returned to the entry way one of the crime scene guys taking pictures let out a low whistle.
“What is it?” Roy asked.
“This one’s a cop,” he said. “Not much left of his face, but I caught a glimpse of his badge, right there...” the guy pointed.
Roy took a pen out of his pocket, knelt down, and pushed the bloodstained jacket aside. Sure enough, a PHXPD badge stared back at him. He cocked his head to the side and realized he knew the guy. “This is Franklin, he works with me in violent crimes... what the hell was he—”
It hit him like a brick. Franklin transfered to Phoenix last year... from New Orleans. It couldn’t be a coincidence, could it?
No, there were no such things.
Damn. I hate to think we’ll find something dirty on him. But if we don’t...
He pulled out his phone and sent a message to Madisun, asking if she was okay. He was still waiting for a response as he drove to her apartment.
CHAPTER 22
Amelia slid her hands around, manipulating the holographic tech in her state of the art lab beneath the Mesa she called home. All she had to go on was Madisun’s description of what she had seen, plus what data Epic could dig up about the place. Once they knew where it was, they could find everything that had been delivered to the factory. It wasn’t promising.
Superconductors, capacitors, state of the art hydrogen batteries, all of it was a recipe for disaster. Whatever the Th’un was up to, it was no good.
She pushed all the pieces aside, starting over, trying to build an abstract idea of what it was they were assembling in the factory. They had Ericsson’s Warbots, the alien-human hybrids, and state-of-the art tech from a hundred different sources.
“Epic, there are a million things they could do with all that stuff, but I don’t see a ‘why’ to any of it,” she said to her AI companion.
I agree. The list of things they could build is far too long. Perhaps we should try narrowing it down by what they are not building?
“Not bad. I see why I keep you around,” she said with a grin.
You cannot run your armor, base, or multi-national corporation without me. You cannot even leave this mountain without me.
“Pshaw, aren’t we full of ourselves this morning. And for your information, I could too leave without you. I would just call Kate... so there.” She finished by sticking her tongue out at him.
I stand corrected. I shall initiate shutdown protocols immediately.
“Fine, you win. I can’t do anything without you,” she said with mock resignation.
If it makes you feel any better, I cannot do much without you, either.
“It does. Now, let’s get on what this is and how to stop them before we go down anymore rabbit holes and—”
Amelia? Your heart rate has increased, are you in distress?
She ignored him for the moment, barely waving her hand to signify silence. With a speed born of practice, and a little fear, she pushed all the pieces together into a circle, forming a sphere, then she used her computer to add a few more parts she could reasonably assume they had.
When she was done she stared at death itself. Death in the form of the machine she had used to wipe out their entire species years before.
“Epic, tell me my math is wrong, please...”
I wish I could. Your calculations are correct. The Th’un is making a quantum singularity generator, or as it is colloquially known, a black hole machine.
“He’s going to need a lot of power to kick-start the reactor,” she said. Amelia switched over to her other computer, bringing up a map of the world and then highlighting it with power grids.
Conversely, he could bleed power off a reliable grid for weeks then use the super-capacitors he built to do the same thing.
“Exactly what I do in the suit with the ZPFMs. But... he would need a reliable grid providing clean and consistent power.”
That rules out most of the world. He could not find it in Russia, China, or anywhere in Eurasia.
“Japan?” she asked.
It would be extremely difficult for him to enter the country and hide within their dense population. However, I can start running searches. There were seventeen cargo ships docked at Vladivostok; three of them left within a day of Madisun’s visit.
“Do you approve of what she does, Epic?” Amelia asked as she used her gloves to look for different location possibilities.
No. Nor do I approve of corrupt law enforcement, or drug cartels. I disapprove of those things more than I disapprove of how Madisun deals with them. So far, she seems to be very careful about the people she kills. They are all bad. I do not see how she can continue. Eventually she will kill someone she should not. An undercover agent, a law-enforcement officer, or an innocent person in the wrong place at the wrong time.
“But she hasn’t done that yet,” Amelia said in defense of the vigilante.
That we know of. I suppose that how she acts from that day forth will determine if she is ultimately on the side of right, or wrong.
“I suppose so. And I do disapprove of her methods—they are extreme. But at the same time, what she has been through...”
…is no more an excuse to do what she does than those Cartel leaders using their children as an excuse to not be punished for their crimes.
The computer beeped, sending a map of France up on her holographic display. “Bordeaux. It’s a French port city, right?” Amelia asked her AI.
Correct. In the last three months, two freighters from Vladivostok have arrived carrying private goods. No public manifest was recorded. Checking...
Amelia zoomed in on the maps. France... She briefly considered calling Kate, as France was her backyard since she lived there for years
and operated out of Europe as a CIA agent, but... but Kate and Madisun didn’t click.
I think I have found it. Château de la Mothe-Chandeniers, three hours north of Bordeaux. It has central access to five of the seven nuclear plants in France and it was recently purchased and remodeled under the context of preservation.
“Can you access the power grids and see how much they are draining?”
On it.
“If that’s it, then they are going to be short some equipment since it is a several week journey from the Sea of Japan to France via freighter. We may have some time. Good. I hate to have to rush things. If we come in fists-swinging he’s likely to hit the button early. This is perfect for Madisun; her stealth will get her in, we can show her how to disable the device, then we can come in fists-swinging with Carlos and the rest of the team.”
It is a solid plan. But... we need to hurry. Their power consumption has steadily climbed over the last few weeks. If we do not act soon, it may be too late.
“Okay, got it. Call Madisun and let her know we’re coming to get her. Also, we better hedge our bets. Move Artemis within striking distance. Worst case, we just obliterate them.”
That is not the worst case.
“I know. I’m trying to stay positive.”
CHAPTER 23
Once again I’m on one of Lockheart’s private jets, this time hurtling toward France. Is this the life of a superhero, flying around the world, saving it from one disaster after another?
“So, it’s an old castle, in France?” I asked again to clarify.
She nodded. “It was purchased a few years ago, crowd funded. Some kind of restoration project, but it appears to have been a front. Axiom bought it for access to the power grid. He’s going to need a lot of it.”
I shook my head in disbelief as the words left my mouth. “To power his black hole machine... which does what, exactly?”
The Wraith: Danger Close (Superhero by Night Book 4) Page 13
