I frowned, hoping I hadn’t managed to undercut my own plan. I knelt beside her and shifted her blond hair aside. The communication device lay nestled in her left ear. I let out a sigh of relief. It was different than the kind that Dana and I had used, but it didn’t look overly squashed.
Making a face, I dug it out and then shoved it inside of my own left ear.
Yuck. The things I did for family.
At first, I heard nothing, making me wonder if I had, in fact, destroyed the thing. Then I heard a man’s voice come through as clear as if he were standing next to me.
“Movement to the east,” he said. “By the bridge.”
A distance that I could cross easily. Bending my knees, I launched myself in that direction, trying my best to keep away from the lamp light. I hit the ground near a patch of maple trees that stood about twenty feet away from a covered bridge. I felt an unexpected pang at the sight of it, remembering how my father had taken Alan and me here as children to feed the ducks that gathered beneath that bridge.
The now-familiar sound of mud squishing beneath someone’s feet filled my ears. I spun around and held back a gasp.
Because the person behind me wasn’t another woman in a black knit cap, but a man dressed from head to toe in tactical armor.
I couldn’t help it. I froze. He reminded me so much of how Alex had looked as Faultline, back before he had retired from life as an Actual. Before I had accidentally trashed his armor.
That moment of hesitation was a mistake.
The armored man swung. Had it not been for those months of training, I’m not sure if I would have been able to dodge in time. Instead, his fist landed on the tree behind me, splintering the wood. I felt my breath catch in my throat as I saw my opening.
I stepped in, delivering a couple of punishing body blows. I felt the armor crack and give way, but that was the only thing familiar about that moment. Up close, I could see that, unlike Alex, the man stood at an average height. His build was also less extreme, not bulky, or scrawny, but something in between.
Also, unlike Alex, he didn’t react to having his body armor torn to shreds. Instead, he delivered a sharp blow across my jaw that sent me sprawling backward. I saw stars and blanked out for a couple of seconds. I looked up to see the armored man leering over me, hands clenched into fist. My mind was scattered, as if concussed from the blow.
As all-encompassing as that sensation was, I couldn’t help but notice that something was…off about the layer that had been exposed when the armor plants on his torso had fallen away. That didn’t look like fabric…
I heard a holler from behind the man, and that, combined with the fact that my healing factor had finally started to kick in, was enough to sharpen my mind.
Alan.
We both looked up to see Alan running toward us, away from the protection of the covered bridge. Even from this distance, I could see that his eyes were wide in fear.
And then his body jerked, as if shot from behind, and he collapsed to the ground.
No! Fear spiked my adrenaline. I launched myself to my feet, my pain all but forgotten. How could I have let that happen? Had he been shot? I hadn’t heard a gun—
I felt an arm wrap around my neck, freezing me in place. My hands jerked up instinctively, wrapping themselves around the limb as it began to crush my windpipe. The armor crumbled beneath my hands, but his grip remained firm. And in front of me, a large, dark clad figure approached my brother and picked him up. He took him back into the shadows.
No, my mind screamed. Not Alan. I couldn’t let—
Then I was free.
I stumbled forward in shock, glancing back to see the armored man lying on the ground in an unconscious heap.
Not that I had time to think about that.
Instead, I turned back to the man who had taken my brother away. I squinted at the shadows to see him cresting over the grassy hill by the bridge, heading toward the street where an SUV sat parked. I launched myself at him, knowing that I needed to stop him before he reached the car. Before my brother could be snatched away. Before—
A flash of light, like a shooting star, darted across the park, connecting with the kidnapper’s head just as they reached the pavement. I landed in time to see two more flashes streak across the sky, hitting additional figures that had been waiting in the shadows of the van. Blinking in shock, I crossed the expanse in a jog. I crouched down next to Alan, and, finding no obvious wounds, reached for a pulse.
Then I heard the scraping of boots on the half-frozen snow behind me.
My head jerked up just in time to see a woman not ten feet away, the gun in her hand pointed straight at me.
I wondered, would I be able to heal from a gunshot wound, point blank, to the head?
Before I could continue contemplating my own mortality, the woman’s head snapped to the side, not due to a beam of light, but a fist to her face. She collapsed to the ground like a rag doll, and I watched as a new woman stepped into view. A very different woman.
Sure, she was also dressed in black, but the stripes of gold that accented her suit weren’t made for sneaking around parks at night. She wore a matching mask, and her face—brown skin, brown eyes, and shoulder-length afro-curly hair—were illuminated not by the streetlamps, but by the golden glow that surrounded her fists. And while my position on the ground made it hard to figure out the specifics, I knew her to be statuesque, close to six feet in height, with arms and shoulders toned by a noticeable layer of muscle.
At least, that’s the way she looked on all her photographs, and in the illustrations done by Hunter Davies.
“Hello, Dawn,” Golden Strike said. “Looks like we managed to get here just in time.”
4
Alex
I could see sparks building up at the edges of my vision by the time I reached Chase Park. My hands gripped tight on the wheel. Why had Alan wandered into some pitch-black park at night? And why did he call Dawn and not the police? Wasn’t this guy supposed to be smart?
As I pulled to the side of the road, I caught sight of multiple figures in the near distance, including one that I instantly recognized as Dawn, dressed as Hikari.
She was crouched on the ground, a woman in costume standing above her.
My right hand shot to my glove compartment. I pulled out a black knit mask, wishing my old armor hadn’t been destroyed. Exiting the car, I stalked toward them, hands curled into fists.
“Yeah, buddy, you’re gonna wanna second-guess yourself there.”
I blinked and turned to the gathering of trees next to me. But that voice sounded like it had come from—
“Alex? Alex Gage?”
I turned back to the costumed woman who was now squinting in my direction.
And for some goddamn reason, she knew who I was.
“Okay,” I said, jaw tight. “What the hell is going on?”
“Wait!” Dawn jumped to her feet and stepped between the woman and me. “They’re here to help.”
“They?” I asked.
In response, I heard a squishy thud nearby as someone dropped down from that maple tree. He immediately cursed.
“Ugh! Mud!” he said. “Why do you still have so much snow?”
He walked into the light, giving me a better look at him. He was on the taller side, about the same height as the woman, who was clearly pushing six feet. And like her, he was also wearing a costume, only where hers was striped with gold, his was with silver. His hair was light blond. And in his hand, he held, of all things, a longbow. Only I couldn’t make out any arrows.
Seeing them together clicked everything into place.
“Wait a minute.” I turned to Dawn. “Aren’t these the two from your comic books? Silver Strike and Golden Shot?”
Dawn winced. “The other way around, actually.”
“Oh, come on,” the archer said. “We spend ten years building up a reputation and this guy can’t even remember our names? We’re the most famous Actuals in the world, for Chris
sake!”
“Admittedly, Sil, it’s an awfully small pool,” the woman in gold said. “We were sent here by a friend of yours—Riley Simmons. It’s why we know who you are.”
“Friend is an awfully strong word,” I grumbled, and then, feeling silly for sweating under a ski mask, tore it off.
It was then that I looked past Dawn to see that there was a fifth person, lying in the shadows.
“Dawn,” I asked. “Is that your brother?”
“He has a pulse,” she said, worry clouding her face. “But I’m not sure—”
“May I?” Golden Strike nodded at Alan.
Dawn nodded back, and the tall woman crouched near Alan, reaching out and resting a hand on the side of his face. For a couple of seconds, her eyes glowed gold.
“From what I can see, he should recover just fine.” Golden Strike looked up to Dawn. “They must have knocked him out with some sort of tranquilizer.”
“You said that Riley sent you,” Dawn said. “But how would Riley know that my brother’s in trouble? They’ve never met.”
“I’ll take a crack at it,” I replied. “Forecaster.”
The two strangers exchanged worried looks.
“Let’s take this conversation inside,” Golden Strike said. “Somewhere safer, more private. Do you know of a place?”
Dawn looked in my direction. “The gym?”
I let out a sigh. “Looks like I’m taking everyone to work with me.”
We arrived at Colossus first, probably because the out-of-towners didn’t know how to circumvent Bailey City’s traffic patterns like a lifelong pro. It gave me time to grab a cot from storage and put it next to the boxing ring for Alan to lie on. Dawn, still dressed as Hikari, gently placed her brother on it, carrying him as if he weighed nothing.
“One of the people who were after Alan referred to him as ‘the brother.’ This clearly has something to do with me,” she said, looking troubled.
“That doesn’t make it your fault,” I replied.
“But we don’t know—”
“Anything,” I finished. “But I have a feeling that ‘The Most Famous Actuals in the World’ know a thing or two.”
“You…don’t sound encouraged by this.” Dawn’s gaze slipped to mine. “Don’t you trust them?”
I shrugged. “I know you’ve been reading their comics for years, but we’re dealing with the source material here. How much do we resemble the Faultline and Hikari of our comics?”
“Oh, sweet! Is that a rock wall?”
We turned to see the two Actuals walking in the door, Silver Shot’s attention on the climbing wall across the room.
“Well, yeah,” I replied. “But that’s not—”
“Awwww, man! I gotta try it out!”
The guy jogged across the room. After taking a moment to swing his bow over his shoulder, he immediately started to climb.
“I feel like I should be lecturing him on safety equipment.” I shook my head.
“I understand that both of you are likely to have some questions,” Golden Strike said, her voice calm, her posture relaxed and nonthreatening.
“I’ll say. It seems to me that Riley told you everything about us, but we know nothing about you.”
“Alex,” Dawn began, “don’t—”
“All I’m saying is how can we trust you if you don’t show that you trust us?” I crossed my arms in front of my chest.
Golden Strike let out a sigh.
“All right then,” she said, reaching up to pull off her mask. “My name is Delilah Gray, but you can call me Lilah.”
Dawn jerked in realization. “Lilah?”
“Hey!” Silver Shot called from—holy shit, how had he already made it to the top of that rock wall? “Are we revealing out secret identities?”
“Yes, Sil,” Lilah said, a smile twitching on her lips.
“Okay then, can you do me?”
“Sure thing!” She turned back to us. “I’d like to introduce you to my partner, Connor Maguire.”
“You’re…” Dawn paused, shaking her head. “Are you the same Lilah I’ve been talking to for the past few months?”
“The same,” she said with a nod.
“I thought your voice was familiar! I just couldn’t put two and two together.”
“Context is everything,” Lilah replied with a shrug. “Sometimes I think half the reason people don’t recognize us when we’re wearing masks is not necessarily because they do such a great job at hiding our faces, but because they can’t even consider the option.”
“But why didn’t you say anything?”
“I try to be respectful of people’s desire for privacy.”
“I honestly hate to break this up,” I said—and really, I did. It was nice to see Dawn be so open with someone that wasn’t me or Sunshine. “But aren’t you guys based out of New York? What are you doing in Bailey City?”
“That’s where we got our start, but in recent years we’ve been spending more and more of our time away, doing jobs for Forecaster. It sounds to me like you know a thing or two about him?” She raised an eyebrow in my direction.
“I know he can see the future.”
“Possible futures,” Lilah corrected gently. “Very little is set in stone until it actually happens.”
“Does this mean that you’re Forgers as well?” Dawn asked.
“Born and raised.”
“Aw, come on, Lie!” Connor called from the rock wall. “Don’t you want to maintain our perfect Hunter Davies Origin story. Why shatter the illusion?”
“So, you didn’t get your powers from a falling star?” Dawn asked with a small smile.
Lilah shook her head. “Just a traditional Awakening.”
“Are you still a psychic?”
“That’s accurate at least. As is the fact that I can draw from the energy created by psychic encounters to power my physical attacks.”
She raised her right hand. A golden glow formed around her fingers as she flexed them into a fist.
Which was impressive, but I found myself a little distracted.
“Wait. Psychic?” I asked. “Can you read our minds?”
“Only with someone’s informed consent. When a person is greatly weakened, I have a little more leeway, but even that is limited. It was why I was able to verify that Alan’s doing just fine, for now.”
“What do you mean by for now?” Dawn asked, a frown creasing her face.
Lilah hesitated before speaking. “Dawn, I must admit that I haven’t been a hundred percent honest with you about the whole of my knowledge involving your abduction. Or, to be specific, your abductors.”
Dawn blinked. “You…you know? I mean, Riley told us that the organization had originally been hired by the Forgers to research how to trigger powers. He didn’t know the specifics.”
“At least, that’s what he told us.” I turned to Lilah. “Forgers aren’t always the most open about what they know.”
“It’s only due to my connections with Forecaster that I have been allowed access to this information.” Lilah sighed. “But yes, Dawn, I know the organization behind your abduction. Although you two probably know more about them, given their heightened presence in your city.”
I felt the final piece fall into place.
“SynergyCorp,” I said. “The drug company?”
Lilah nodded.
“Shit. They have a building on every corner in some neighborhoods. Hell, Dana works for them.”
“A big company with a lot of different divisions,” Lilah replied. “Including what we refer to as Project Regen.”
Dawn swallowed, her gaze dropping to the floor.
“Now,” Lilah continued. “Forecaster has the ability to see many possible futures, and a disturbingly large amount of them involved SynergyCorp making another move on your brother.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” I said. “Kidnap the brother of the girl who had a very public abduction less than a year ago? That’s going to look suspiciou
s. Why do something so risky?”
“Forecaster’s abilities aren’t limitless. His instructions were to protect Alan at any cost. If we fail, that would result in reopening Project Regen.” She swallowed. “And they’re not likely to give up on him without a fight.”
“That’s…highly inconvenient.”
I jerked toward the cot behind us at Alan’s voice. Blinking, he began to push himself up to a sitting position but came to a stop halfway, placing a hand on his head.
“Alan,” Dawn said, rushing to her brother and kneeling by his side.
“Take it slow there,” Lilah said. “That tranquilizer isn’t out of your system yet. You’re gonna be a little woozy for a while.”
“Are you okay?” she asked him. “Did you injure yourself when you fell?”
“I’m perfectly fine, Dawn. Just…lightheaded.”
Dawn caught the mention of her real name and jerked to a stop.
“Alan. How did you…” She shook her head. “I was planning on telling you, but I hadn’t had the chance.”
“Oh,” he said, shaking his head. “Well, it was mostly the timing. You go missing for multiple months and come back and suddenly there’s a young Japanese woman running the streets with superpowers? It didn’t take much effort.”
“Most people didn’t jump to that conclusion.”
“You clearly haven’t dug into some of the conspiracy theory forums online. Don’t worry, I do my best to dial down the rumors.” He paused. “Of course, there’s also the fact that the costume you wear is similar to pictures you used to draw when you were younger.”
“I didn’t think you remembered that!”
“I have no reason to forget. Excuse me.” He turned to Lilah. “Ma’am, you’ll have to forgive me for being behind on this conversation, but it appears that you’ve been sent here by someone who has the ability to see the future.”
“Forecaster,” Lilah said with a nod.
“Well, if he can see the future, what does he suggest we do next? As much as I enjoy visiting my family, I do have a position in Boston. I cannot stay here under your protection for an indefinite amount of time. Neither, I would guess, can you.”
Silver and Gold (Red and Black Book 3) Page 4
