Encrypted

by Weaver, Nicole

  Sirens wailed in the distance, then dwindled and fell silent. Guess they cancelled the pursuit since I got away. Excellent.

  A short hike from the road brought her to a small hill where she could dip under a pine tree. She cleared a spot among the pine needles and sticky sap and nestled in to watch the road visible through the loose branches.

  A moment's digging through her bag rewarded her with a candy bar, chocolate and caramel. Jackpot!

  She waited an hour, just to be sure no one saw where she'd gone, then threaded her way back to her lair using whatever vegetation was available to avoid vehicles. No one seemed to be looking for her. The Villain, content at last, circled around to her lair, savoring her great victory.

  The sun sat low on the horizon by the time she was able to drop her bag of winnings next to her bed.

  She pulled free the first can of oven cleaner. There was no sign of Jackie or her dogs as she moved around the building. Tonight, she would have a surprise ready for the animals.

  When she was finished, a line of degreaser stretched around the foundation. She had sprayed on a double layer around any area with a lot of paw prints.

  Afterwards, she reclined on her makeshift throne to munch on a small bag of cheesy tortilla chips and enjoy a glorious crimson sunset. This time, victory tasted of cheese and the acrid odor of degreaser wafting up through the floorboards. I'm finally on my own, and I don't need anyone to save me. Today could hardly have gone better. Maybe by the time I find Eddie, I will have this place built into a real lair, with electricity and minions.

  Chapter 29

  Wednesday, May 26th, 2010

  "Greg? Greg Weathers?" Detective Angela Miller forced her lips into a friendly smile. Some people prefer to call it walking softly while carrying a big stick, Angela preferred to think of it as being nice so she wouldn't have so much paperwork to falsify later.

  "Come in."

  The office door squeaked open at her touch, revealing a cluttered mess of papers and Thai takeout boxes. A thin man sat behind his tiny desk, in the only chair, with his shoulders back and chin held high, seemingly oblivious to the sickly the aroma of old food. He frowned at his computer, not yet looking up.

  "It took you long enough to get here, Mr.—" Greg blinked a few times before continuing. "—Detective. What if she had attacked someone? Or heaven forbid, killed someone? We need Heroes that show up when we call, not an inept security guard or some late arrival cop, to tell us what we already know. We have a Villain on our hands."

  Detective Miller considered her options. There was still a chance to avoid extra paperwork.

  When she didn't immediately respond, Greg slowly turned a light shade of red. A tapping noise came from under his desk, his foot speeding up in the silence between them.

  Got him. "I would like to avoid any issues here, Mr. Weathers. I am here to do my job, and everything will go smoother if you cooperate." She waited until he opened his mouth to respond, then interrupted him, "Do we have a problem?" I have better things to do than deal with you, like finding a surprisingly slippery little girl, without getting nailed by internal affairs.

  He leaned across his desk to wag a finger in her face. "You are here to serve and protect Null citizens. If you did your job—"

  Detective Miller hummed a discordant tune, just loud enough to be heard.

  He dropped back into his seat with glazed eyes. His pen rolled slowly across the desk towards the edge.

  Smiling widely, she caught the pen and waited for him to recover.

  Slowly shaking his head and blinking rapidly, he started again, this time without the bravado. "I think we have a problem, Detective. A new Villain robbed my store, dodged my employees as if they were not even there, flew over everyone trying to stop her, and escaped. She only took food this time, but next time she might come for the money."

  He raised a fist as if to slam it down on the desk between them but stopped when he met her hard gaze. He took a deep breath instead, then reached for his missing pen.

  She set it down between them.

  He huffed angrily, "Protecting people is your job, isn't it?"

  She held eye contact and kept her voice neutral. "Sir, these are hectic times. We have the fire at the Prime Research Institute, a host of escaped Villains running loose, Null criminals taking advantage of the chaos, and constant calls from citizens, such as yourself, about shoplifting and other petty crimes."

  His eyes bulged. "Shoplifter? She's a Prime! That elevates all crimes by at least one level. I—"

  "I spoke with your cashiers on my way in," she spoke slower, increasing the contrast between them. "There is no evidence of a Manifestation. If you insist on calling the Heroes over every Null crime, they will be less likely to deploy when a real Villain shows up."

  "You weren't there, I was. She's a Prime."

  Detective Miller sighed. "No, she isn't. Your cashiers described a couple of out-of-shape adults chasing a poor hungry child. Of course she ran, she must have been terrified."

  "But, but...she was so fast, and she flew."

  "Adrenaline is a wondrous thing. I'm pretty fast too, when I'm being chased. Now, do you want my help, or not?" She turned slightly, as if to leave.

  He deflated. "Please."

  "Good." She flicked on the tape recorder and cradled it in her lap. "Please describe the suspect so I can begin my investigation. If it turns out we do have a Villain on our hands, I will hand the case over to the PCA for further investigation."

  "She's a white girl about 5'10, 140 pounds, long platinum blonde hair, a thin little upturned nose, and a crap ton of freckles." He frowned at the ceiling. "Um, a purple shirt and blue jeans. Sparkly pink shoes."

  "Thank you. Now please describe what happened and include every detail you can remember. It's possible something important might not seem that way at first, especially when dealing with the adrenaline of a confrontation."

  "She kept demanding to use the phone. I told her no, it is against company policy, and she threw a fit. If looks could kill, I'd be a ghost. The next thing I know, she has a bag full of merchandise and is making a break for it."

  "Good. Did you see what was stolen?" She already has at least one phone, perhaps two of them, according to her classmates. Is she trying to avoid being traced?

  "Mostly snack foods and oven cleaner, probably for drugs. I've heard kids are huffing everything these days. I know video isn't admissible in court, but we still have a legacy camera system—" He gestured at his computer.

  She covered the tape recorder and flicked it off while he continued.

  "—and you can have a copy if it will help. We use the cameras to help inventory in Null shoplifting cases."

  "Excellent," Detective Miller said. "I hadn't realized your store still had security cameras, despite the danger of Prime hackers. I want to see that footage as soon as we are finished here."

  "It's not connected to the internet."

  "That doesn't always matter to a Prime. Let’s get back to your claims of her Manifesting. Were there any effects that wouldn't show up on your video? You seemed quite certain she is a Prime, despite all evidence otherwise."

  "I'm certain all right. You can't quite see it in the camera, but that little girl flew over my cashier, and she's faster than any Null I've ever seen." He frowned, but relaxed as she seemed to take his theory seriously. "Reminded me of those YouTube videos of Ace Haste, zipping around like a lightning bolt. She's not as fast as Ace, but plenty faster than she should be."

  The Detective covertly flicked the tape recorder back on. "Mr. Weathers, I need you to focus. If there's nothing in the video that will help, were you or your staff affected mentally? Dizziness? Pain? Confusion?" She paused. "I still do not believe she's a Prime, but more than one of the Institute escapees were Telepaths."

  "No. None of that." He sighed. "I talked to my staff and some of the customers directly after the incident. No one felt weird or confused."

  "Thank you, Sir." She turned the tap
e recorder off and put it away. Tape was tougher to modify than digital, even for a Prime hacker. She'd knew because she had asked GG about making her job easier. He had refused. Angela would just have to write her report as routinely as possible to avoid any questions about the gap in her recording. "Now, if we could just review the security footage you mentioned, I can get on with apprehending this criminal."

  "Villain."

  Detective Miller smiled. "I will make sure my report reflects your speculation. The video?"

  He opened his laptop and motioned for her join him on his side of the desk.

  The grainy video was clear enough. Fast and agile, Samantha dodged the adults like they were standing still. The only thing Greg had left out was the gleeful smile on the little shit's face as she darted out the door. No wonder she slipped our net, she's not a telepath at all. She's a Metamorph. Angela shivered. Scorch shouldn't have let a lie that big slip past him, or let the foster dad go. Maybe we can pick him back up later to break the rest of his fingers and see what else we missed.

  "That should do it. Please transfer a copy of this video to my thumb drive." She handed him her special drive. Loaded with a virus, it would seek across the network for any copies of the downloaded files and scramble them an hour after being activated... unless the correct code was entered before then. It wouldn't be.

  "Will you at least show the Heroes the video?" He licked his lips nervously.

  "I have to clear my conclusions with my Supervisor. He will make the final decision on whether to involve the PCA." She stood up. "In the meantime, if she returns, don't fight her. Take note of what she steals and where she goes, then email me to pick up any new video of her actions. It will help me convince the chief she's dangerous enough for a Heroic response."

  His frown disappeared when he realized he might still get his team of Heroes "Oh, that's good. I'll do my best then."

  She handed him a particular square of card stock with a convincing company logo across the top. "If you are still concerned, I know a security firm that specializes in keeping Primes out of places they shouldn't be. They will give you a discount if you tell them I sent you." She handed him the card with GG's front business phone number and left him turning it over in his hands.

  Once she was safely snuggled into her heated leather seats, Detective Miller popped open her flip phone. "It's like I thought. Scorch had bad intel from the foster dad. She's a Metamorph, limited so far, but possibly with enhanced speed as a secondary Manifestation. She hasn't attacked anyone, yet, but she's learning fast, and we have no way to gauge her threat. I recommend extreme caution."

  GG's words came fast, heated. "Damn it, I'm gone for two weeks and a little girl walks all over my best people. I want your best guess at her ratings and your opinion. Is she worth pursuing?"

  "We have it under control. I gave the store manager your card, so we can keep some people on the ground in case she shows up again." She held her breath.

  "I asked you a question."

  Angela cleared her throat. "I'm sorry, Sir. As fast as she is learning, I'd say we won't be able to keep her if we can't convince her to join willingly. My guess is she has a typical single power Manifestation that affects only her basic features and muscles. She is going be stuck with strictly touch based attacks and have no range at all. Still, as a human Metamorph, she will have a wider spread for self-modification than your average Biokinetic."

  "Good. Good. Now reassure me you can handle this. I don't have a lot of time to make a decision. With your friends from the north on the way, I simply cannot leave our interests unrepresented at a conference of this magnitude. Either you convince me you can handle this girl, or I call in a favor with the Voluntold to put her down permanently."

  Shit. There is no way we can keep everything quiet with them poking around, and we can't afford a city-wide scrub of our plans. "Sir, this situation is under control. I've confirmed her general location and acquired updated intel on her Manifestation. I've already composed a report that will keep the Police out of the way until it's too late to interfere. I believe I can convince her to join us willingly, and I am confident I can do so within a few days. My only caveat to this is the rare chance she might be a full spectrum Metamorph. If she is, then Samantha is far too dangerous and should be killed on sight with a large application of fire."

  "Good. Will she be an asset, or should I let Alpha know we have another one for him?"

  "Sir, based on her psych profile, Samantha Gray is violently opposed to authority, especially anyone she identifies as a Hero. We can use that to persuade her to our cause." Screamdream said. "At the very least, I believe we should try. Metamorphs aren't exactly common, and she hasn't shown signs of any dangerous instability. Even with the risk, a skilled face-changer would make all our jobs easier."

  "It's true she'd be worth a hell of a lot to us as an infiltrator." GG was silent for a few seconds. "Okay. I am going to trust you on this, don't make me regret it. Is there anything else?"

  "Thank you, Sir." Detective Miller flipped to a page in her notebook filled with her own neat handwriting. "I've been taking some notes on her personality. If anyone approaches her, they should start with a friendly discussion, and a request she come willingly. Overt encircling will make her run, and she's more likely to Manifest something dangerous by accident if she panics. She's slippery, and growing more powerful by the day, but a couple of flashbangs and a good whack on the head should still incapacitate her. Once she is captured, she should be broken down and made to accept her utter powerlessness. We will have plenty of time afterwards to rebuild her into whatever we want her to be."

  "Good to know, now get to it. I don't want Bryant to catch on before we have the girl in hand, and you safely extracted from his department."

  "Yes Sir." She snapped her phone shut as soon as he hung up, then picked up the radio.

  "D21 to dispatch, come in please."

  "Dispatch here, what's the situation?"

  "It's a dud. Random shoplifter and a manager with an overactive imagination. I'm going to look around for the perp, but I doubt I'll find anything."

  "Acknowledged. Stay in touch. Dispatch out."

  Location traces on her phone are pulling up nothing, likely because she's carefully not using it. The foster parents went dark, and the kid hasn't contacted her little school buddy in days. Why would the foster parents lie to protect her, then flee the area, but let her wander around alone like this?

  Chapter 30

  Thursday, May 27th, 2010

  Scaleface, in full costume, came through the door first and took a front row seat. The rest of the team filed into the briefing room behind him, each respectfully nodding to Chief Bryant at the podium.

  Suckerpunch slipped in just before the door was locked and darted through the projector beam to take a seat by himself. No way I want to be stuck between Scaleface and Chief Bryant right now.

  "Thank you for coming," the Chief said. "It shows your dedication as Heroes that you would volunteer for this critical mission." He nodded at Scaleface, who turned down the lights. "As you well know, you are not required to involve yourself in Null raids, no matter how dangerous the Null in question is believed to be. I am requesting your assistance anyway, due to the high likelihood of Villain interference." His mustache quivered as he clicked through the first few slides.

  Images of Detective Miller appeared, a side-by-side comparison of her in civilian dress and in uniform.

  "Angela Miller transferred from a Seattle precinct six months ago and quickly distinguished herself as a young rising star in the department. Her partner, a new hire based on her suggestion, was shaping up to be an asset as well. Together they have been taking care of child trafficking cases, as well as Null-Prime relations."

  He cleared his throat. "New evidence has implicated them both in a wide variety of crimes. Suspicious database activity was traced to Detective Eggers’ laptop, revealing original copies of multiple doctored incident reports clustered around mo
st of their cases. It quickly became clear he holds a particular fascination for the Samantha Gray case, a fascination shared by his true boss, Gregory Addison."

  The next image showed a smartly dressed man in a pin striped business suit and fedora. "Also known as GG, until recently it was believed he was still working out of Seattle. We now know he moved operations to Arbor City, sometime around the beginning of the year."

  The following slide showed Samantha glaring out of a yearbook photo.

  Battleplan glanced over his shoulder, eyeing Suckerpunch accusingly.

  "The Gray case is complex, far more so than we were led to believe by the original reports of the Welbore Bus Incident. Reports filled out by Detective Miller and backed up by Detective Eggers." The Chief's long mustache twitched as he spoke, the tips wiggling slightly. "It is unknown at this time if Miss Gray is herself a Villain, or simply the target of their recruitment efforts. That determination is awaiting further evidence."

  Both Battleplan and Suckerpunch raised their hands simultaneously.

  Chief Bryant waved them down, his mustache bouncing wildly. "Two members of your team have spoken stridently in her defense. As a result, we are currently investigating Samantha Gray as a Missing Endangered Person, rather than a potential Villain."

  The two Heroes put their hands down.

  A new slide showed a smiling Hispanic man posing in his uniform, proudly showing off a detective badge.

  "Detective Eggers joined the force with high test scores and physical aptitude marks at the top of his class. It was decided to place him with Detective Miller, at her request. Miller’s previous partner retired around that time due to what appeared to be early onset dementia." The Chief paused significantly.

  Another slide revealed Detective Eggers in a business suit, having dinner with GG.

  "We now have reason to believe Jeffrey Eggers is actually the Villain known as Mnemonic. We have no witnesses capable of impartially attesting to his powers, but there is some circumstantial evidence. He appears to be a Telepath capable of modifying memories by touch, and some individuals have reported a heightened sensitivity to Primes in general after being affected by him. We suspect a great many of the witnesses cited in his reports were affected by this ability."