by A A Woods
He remembered the last thing he’d said to his parents.
…or else I’m going to leave and never come back.
“The dinner starts in an hour, Joe. There isn’t much time.”
Joe jerked his head in a nod.
Eliza and Aquila could wait.
He had a family to save.
Chapter Forty-Three: Family Comes First
“Thanks for meeting me,” Moose said, twisting his hands.
Aquila glared at him, the sunset making his feathers look like they were on fire. “You picked a hell of a time to play prodigal son.”
Moose winced.
He hadn’t exactly expected a warm welcome or anything. He knew Aquila spent the last few weeks fuming at him, and all that compounded rage had to go somewhere. It had been one of the reasons he’d chickened out three times before actually committing to the call. But the sun going down and the minutes ticking away too fast had finally forced Moose’s hand. There wasn’t much time. The party was happening tonight.
Even braced for it, Aquila’s restless, frantic anger was surprising.
“I know, I know, I’m sorry. I never meant for it to go this far. It’s just that you kept insisting that we stay low, not even leave the house, and bro, you know I can’t sit still that long…” Moose’s voice trailed off into a slight whine, making him feel even smaller in Aquila’s vast shadow.
“So you run off on your own to feed your delusions?”
Moose straightened. “They aren’t delusions!”
“The real world doesn’t need superheroes, Moose!”
“How do you know that? You didn’t even try!”
“I didn’t need to! Unlike you, I didn’t fall for the imaginary bullshit!”
Moose wasn’t able to stop his fists from clenching or his shoulders from bunching. There was just something about Aquila that made his blood boil, a tension that had always existed between them and spilled over after Fitzgerald Base catapulted them all to national attention. “No, you didn’t try because you’re scared you might not be the best at it, like you are at everything else.”
There was a harsh, pregnant pause that hung between them like ashes.
Finally, Aquila waved a hand, turning away. “I don’t have time for you right now.”
Moose bit his lip. This wasn’t going according to plan. He hadn’t called Aquila to fight with him…
“Wait,” Moose said as his brother spread his wings, throwing Moose even deeper into shadow. “I…. I need your help.”
Aquila rounded on him, huge and imposing. “Oh? You need my help? Two months with no word and now, of all times, you want me to drop everything for you?”
Moose took a step back. He’d never seen Aquila this angry.
Something was wrong.
“Look, something’s going on—”
“You’re damn right something’s going on.”
“—and I might have made a mistake—”
“Which one?”
“Will you just listen?” Moose snapped, storming in.
Aquila matched the move until they were nose-to-nose, chests bumping in a way they hadn’t done since they were kids.
“No, you listen, asshole,” Aquila snarled, breath hot in Moose’s face. “Did you know that Eliza’s missing? She’s missing because you pissed off that Hans guy and he kidnapped her to get back at me for not playing the show-pony role you wanted. She shouldn’t have even come to the city, but she insisted to make sure that when we found you someone was there who didn’t want to tear you apart!”
As if it was too much for him, Aquila broke away, pacing back and forth in the small park they’d found to meet in. There were a few pedestrians on the street, gaping from afar, but luckily everyone had left them alone.
Moose was grateful.
He honestly wasn’t sure what Aquila would do right now.
“Eliza’s… missing?”
“Yes,” Aquila snapped. “Hans took her.”
“Shit.”
“Exactly. And I don’t know where he is, but I do know he’s going to be at that party tonight and I need to be there.”
Moose took a breath, wishing with all his being that he didn’t have to do this next part. That he could just skim over the unfortunate reality of his own involvement, let Aquila believe he was just a jerk, just an idiot, just his moron brother who’d fallen in over his head.
But it was too late for that.
Moose took a deep breath. “Hans isn’t the only one who’s going to be at that party.”
Aquila froze. Turned toward him.
Moose forced himself to continue. “Apparently, every media tycoon and network owner in the country has been invited. All the most powerful people in entertainment will be in that room.”
Aquila didn’t move, watching Moose in a way that made him distinctly aware that his brother had eagle in him.
“Victor’s going to kill them.”
The words fell like stones into still water.
Aquila blinked. “What?”
Now that he’d started, the words came out of Moose in a torrent, almost too fast for Aquila to understand. “Victor has this idea that Hans is the bad guy, which I don’t think is wrong, but Victor made it out like he was Thanos and that no sacrifice was too great to take him out, see, since he’s so bad. So that’s why I worked with him, when he told me that there was this big mob boss guy who had some bio-weapon thingy, it seemed like a no-brainer, but that bio-weapon thingy is more dangerous than I thought and Victor’s going to use it on all those people tonight, trapped in a room. He sent me home, since I said I wasn’t comfortable with it, but I can’t let him do it, Aquila, I can’t let him murder people with a thing I stole for him. Please, you have to help me. I made a mistake, and I can’t live with myself if I don’t’ fix it. We have to stop him…”
Moose trailed off, watching his brother, who watched him right back. Aquila had a funny look on his face, thoughtful, as if something Moose said had finally broken through his own private panic.
“You know,” Aquila said after a moment, “that was actually pretty brave of you to admit.”
Moose’s shoulders relaxed slightly. “Really?”
“Don’t let it go to your head.” Aquila rubbed his neck. “Bio-weapon?”
“Yeah.”
“At the party?”
“Yeah.”
“To kill Hans. Who might be the only person who knows where Eliza is?”
“I mean, if that’s what you—”
“Let’s go.”
Aquila’s wings stretched to their full length, making a few people across the street gasp.
“Are you supposed to be doing that?” Moose said, eying Aquila.
“Would you rather run?”
“I mean, I’d probably still beat you,” Moose said, but he edged over. This used to be comfortable between them, Moose leaping onto Aquila’s back, ready to soar over to town and steal some pizzas or watch teenagers get drunk in the woods. It had been their routine to go out together, Aquila flying, Moose watching for fun things to do.
But now, as Moose locked his arms around Aquila’s neck, careful to avoid the tender wing-joints, things felt stilted. Complicated.
He wondered if the change was permanent.
I hope not.
“Hold on,” Aquila reminded him.
“Duh.”
And then they were sweeping into the air, rising over the city, and Moose couldn’t help but feel like the mess they were flying into was more manageable, more tolerable, because he wasn’t facing it alone.
Chapter Forty-Four: Convergence
It was amazing how easy buildings were to sneak into when one could arrive on the roof. As Aquila settled them on one of three helicopter pads, Moose wiggling out of his arms, he noticed a few cameras, a motion-sensor light, and two guards on either side of the open door, gaping at them in shock.
But no one was about to stop him.
Charging forward, Aquila was grateful
that neither moved into his way. He wasn’t sure what he’d have done if they had.
Kill them?
Maybe.
He felt capable of anything right now.
“Sorry, in a rush,” Moose said from behind him. “Keep up the good work!”
“For once, will you just be quiet?”
“No,” Moose answered, but he didn’t say anything else as they stormed through the carpeted hall, decorated with portraits of famous people. Aquila barely registered any of it. He’d researched the location back in Joe’s family apartment, skimming a Wikipedia article about the event space. All he could remember was the rent price and how few times a year it was used.
“Where do you think everyone is?” Moose said.
Aquila didn’t respond, because the noise of a crowd was filtering in from down the hall, past a group of caterers. He could hear heels, clinking glasses, and someone speaking over a microphone.
The event had started.
They were running out of time.
“Hey, wait!” called a young waiter in livery, turning away from where he’d been deftly refilling a tray of drinks.
“It’s those freaks!” cried a woman wearing a bowtie.
Aquila marched right past them, hand slapping against the double doors, crashing inside.
“Woah,” Moose said, whistling behind him. “Snazzy.”
It was, indeed, snazzy. The balcony they’d stepped out onto overlooked a huge ballroom, all marble and gilding and Renaissance frescos. It was like something out of a dream, with long tables of delicacies lining the walls, round seating areas in the middle, and more beautiful people than Aquila had ever seen in one place. Every corner and centerpiece reeked of money and luxury, from the whole display of eccentric baked goods to the gaudy flower arrangements on either side of the podium. The guests were seated, watching the man on stage.
“That’s Victor,” Moose said, pointing at the speaker.
“That’s not who I’m looking for,” Aquila said, sharp eyes scanning the crowd.
He found Hans quickly, Abnormal bodyguards seated on either side of him. The one called Pan looked bored and moody, dressed in a chic pantsuit that she somehow managed to make look rumpled. The other one was wearing a simple tuxedo, mousy hair a little more coiffed than usual.
Aquila headed for the stairs.
“Wait, wait, wait,” Moose said, stepping in front of him. “Don’t we need a plan or something?”
“Grab Hans before the attack can start. Drag him outside so there are no innocents in the crossfire. Make him tell me where Eliza is.”
Moose dropped his hands, letting Aquila pass. “Ok, yeah, that pretty much makes sense.”
Aquila was vaguely aware of the stir beginning in the crowd below, the whispers rising as more and more people noticed the huge, winged teenager marching down the curving staircase like an angry debutante. He knew he was hard to miss, especially with Moose darting along behind him. Maybe he should have talked his brother into taking off the brightly colored windbreaker. But what did it matter? They were never going to blend in. However much Aquila longed for a life of normalcy, insulated from the noise and judgment of the world, it wasn’t in the cards. And the more he tried to chase it, the more he tried to stay low, the more people got hurt.
Like Eliza.
Aquila reached the bottom step, attention zeroed in on Hans. The speaker—Victor Smith—had stopped. A hostile silence fell over the ballroom.
But what did he care?
Aquila was used to it.
He stepped to the side, edging around the dessert table. Vaguely, he heard Moose mutter something apologetic to the young woman standing beside it.
But before he could register the words, a figure rose out of her seat to block his trajectory.
Scarlett Hill.
“What are you doing?” she hissed, face twisted with a strange rage that Aquila couldn’t make sense of.
His gaze snapped, almost against his will, to her.
Everyone was watching them.
“What do we have here?” Victor said with a half-laugh, his voice tinged with an edge of hysteria. “This isn’t the entertainment we hired.”
The crowd tittered.
“I’m finding Eliza,” Aquila answered honestly, unable to lie to those magnetic eyes.
Scarlett moved in, close enough that her next words were inaudible to everyone but him. “You’re going to ruin six months of planning for her?”
“Who ordered the clowns?” someone called, followed by more nervous laughter.
“I don’t care about planning,” Aquila hissed back, wrenching his eyes to Hans. His bodyguards were shoving to their feet, bracing for battle. “I care about him.”
“My apologies, everyone,” Victor said over the growing restlessness. “Please stay seated, our security will take care of this.”
Around them, doors began to slam closed.
“Um, Aquila,” Moose said, pointing. A short, Hispanic man was navigating the tables with expert precision, carrying a domed tray toward Hans’s table.
Aquila made to move, but Scarlett grabbed his arm. “No,” she said, stopping him more with the word than her grip. “You’ve got the wrong man.”
Every muscle in Aquila’s body was strained, ready to snap. His eyes were locked on Hans, who in turn was watching Victor with suspicion. Aquila’s heart pounded, suddenly filled with doubt. “What?”
“Hans doesn’t have her,” Scarlett said. “Hans doesn’t know anything about her.”
With effort, Aquila ripped his gaze away from Hans, ignoring Moose saying his name again, with more urgency. “What do you mean?”
She leaned in even closer. “Listen to me, don’t choose the wrong side. Don’t blow all this over a human. Their species is failing. They’ve ruined the planet, the country, everything they touch. We are the next step. We’re the future, Aquila. Not her.”
Everything seemed to slow, seemed to narrow to Scarlett’s face. Vaguely, he was aware of Moose hurrying to stop the Hispanic man, Victor saying something smug over the speaker, Hans reaching into his coat. Aquila’s senses catalogued the threats automatically, distantly. But Scarlett had stolen all his attention, had wrapped him around her words and tightened her grip. He could feel her control over him. Her magnetism.
“We?” he managed at last.
She only smiled.
Abnormal.
The word popped into Aquila’s brain like a warning. A reminder.
Scarlett was Abnormal.
And she knew where Eliza was.
Aquila struggled to move. To pull out of her grasp. He could feel her doubling down, that power worming under his skin. It would have been so easy, almost a relief, to let her eyes pull him in and never let go. To let himself get swept away.
He pushed against it.
Pushed harder.
And then, with a herculean effort, Aquila snapped, grabbing Scarlett by the throat and slamming her against the wall.
Screams burst out around him like birds taking flight, accompanied by the wild flash of cameras, but Aquila could barely hear them. He was sweating and shaking, doing everything he could to hold her there, keep her surprised and unable to focus those beautiful, horrible eyes.
“Where is she?” he snarled, fighting for control. He wanted to let her go. He wanted to strangle her.
“V-V-Victor’s mansion,” she gasped, eyes huge. Her fingernails clawed at his arm, leaving deep gouges.
“Aquila!” Moose shouted, stumbling to a stop between Aquila and the tan waiter, torn between the two. “Don’t!”
Jerked out of the daze by his brother’s voice, Aquila let go. Staggered back.
Where had that come from?
Everyone was staring at him and, for the first time, Aquila felt like the freakish monster they thought he was.
What had he done?
“Screw this,” Moose muttered.
He leapt on the nearest table to even more shrieks and flashes.
&nb
sp; Moose threw out his arms. “Everybody out! It’s a trap, everyone get out of here!”
“Too late,” Victor Smith said from the stage, pressing something to his face.
A… gas mask?
Aquila’s brain was sluggish, scrambling to make sense.
The man carrying the domed tray smiled back at Victor, tipped his head.
Lifted the cover.
Aquila looked over just in time to see the mushroom cloud of vapor explode out, billowing into the ballroom.
Chapter Forty-Five: Coming Apart
“Come on, come on.”
Eliza yanked on the wood with every whispered word, spitting them out like curses. The dark-haired guy had checked in on her about an hour ago, dressed in a serving uniform and wearing a smile that gave her chills.
“See you soon,” he said as he checked the rope around her wrists and closed the door.
In the time that had passed since then, Eliza’s terror had grown to a fever pitch.
It was worse, somehow, that they hadn’t left more security. No gag, no lock, no guards. It showed a level of confidence that made her deeply afraid, like these were people who didn’t have to worry about a little thing like a teenager screaming her head off in one of their guest bedrooms. Was she in a basement, where no one would ever hear her? Or maybe she wasn’t even in the city anymore, for all she knew.
The only thing Eliza could be sure about was that she needed to get out of there soon.
She threw her body weight back, gratified by the squeal of wood rubbing against itself.
“I am not going to die here,” she said as she continued to pull, working the weakness. “I am going to see people again. This is not the end.”
Her self-assurances weren’t convincing. Eliza wanted to go back and shake herself, shake Aquila. If he’d just told her what was going on, then she wouldn’t have done this. But no, she couldn’t shovel all the blame on him. This was partially her fault for not being honest. She’d acted like nothing was wrong and now everything was wrong, and she wasn’t at all sure if she’d have a chance to make it right.
