The Negative Man: Twilight Days (Pacific Station Vigilante Book 4)

by Jeremy Croston

  Someone appeared, but it was only Destiny. “Volkkenkrüger’s not with me, Jericho.”

  “How is that possible,” I growled.

  “We see what he wants us to see,” she replied.

  I felt myself beginning to slip. He was here, somewhere, or was he? “Where is he, Destiny?”

  She looked down at the floor, her boot tapping the floor in a weird pattern. “You know I can’t just tell you that information.” No, she couldn’t say it out loud, but I watched the pattern of her boot again. “I really like you, but Volkkenkrüger is my master.”

  Ha, her words and her actions didn’t match up. She’d tapped out in Morse Code where he was off to; the police station. I wasn’t sure why she was telling me where to find Ellison, but I took what I could get. We held our eye contact for just a few more moments before I left City Hall, back out into the streets. People were still running away from building, pointing and screaming at me.

  To get away from this scene faster, I integrated myself into the nearest power line and sped through the electrical grid until I got to the Police Station. Jumping out, I was greeted by a platoon of cops, ready for me.

  Ellison…

  The cops didn’t even ask me to stop or to hold up. They just started firing away. I put up my shield and watched as the bullets disintegrated against the field of energy. What did Ellison make these cops see? How could I get around this without causing a lot of casualties? That just wasn’t my game, anymore.

  Ahhh screw it. I sucked in all that energy as the cops stopped their onslaught for a split second. I channeled all of it into my new hand and slammed it into the ground with all the force I could muster. Waves of angry, sizzling, electricity raced towards the officers and took them all down in one fell swoop. It weakened me a bit, but at least that was taken care of.

  Wow, I used up a lot of juice. Damnit, this old body wasn’t nearly as cooperative as it had been when I was younger. I still had Stormfall energy coursing through me, but not as much as I’d like going in to face Ellison.

  The moment I walked into the station, Ellison was standing there with the mayor. Behind them, Kyle was handcuffed with the police chief, Tim Berkheimer, holding him in place. Other than them, an army of police officers all had their rifles trained right on me. Hmmm, was saving Kyle really worth this?

  Ahh hell, yeah it was.

  “The Negative Man,” Ellison remarked coolly. He wasn’t in the mood to refer to me as his son, it seemed. “I told you, Mayor, he’s here to kill us all and take over your city, just like he tried before.”

  That was ironic. “I did that once before; it really wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.”

  “Berkheimer, have your men kill him already!”

  Boosman’s face was redder than an apple and two veins were popping out of his forehead. The man was close to a stroke, I think. “Oh Frank, you really are at a loss, here. Why don’t you scurry away and let the big kids talk?”

  He didn’t take well to being treated like a child. “Kill him, damnit!”

  Ellison put his hand up. “I can’t hold them off forever, Jericho. Leave now and live, that’s my offer.”

  “Not before I take Kyle with me.”

  Sadness finally showed in him. “His death will be the catalyst I need. The beloved hero of Pacific Station killed by an egomaniac who shares the same views as our president? The civil war this country needs, and that supers need, will be here and we will win.”

  “While I don’t care about the rest, I’m not letting you kill him. I owe not just Kyle that, but John Wonderton.”

  “Why do you owe that destitute man anything?” he asked.

  “Because, even though we were on opposite sides, he was there for me when I needed it. I killed him, out of an ego-driven delusion.” My sins, coming to a head… “Kyle’s better than John and I will ever be. He’s a better man than you’ve ever been.”

  Hearing me, the one he regarded as his son, basically say he wasn’t all that great pushed Ellison too far. “I expected Destiny’s betrayal, as subtle as it was. You stood up to her brother for her. But your betrayal?” Ellison’s face turned dark, murderous. “It really didn’t have to be this way.”

  I prepared for the worst. Ellison’s powers were such an enigma that anything would be possible. That’s when I heard a gun fire and when the bullet exited through the front of Ellison’s head, I knew that couldn’t have been his vision. The weight of false memories that had subtly been implanted in my mind years ago lifted. The fog of knowing what was true and what was false was gone.

  All around, the mayor and other police offers were experiencing the same sensation. Ellison Staley was dead.

  Holding the smoking gun was Chief Berkheimer. “The asshole never bothered to make sure he screwed with the thoughts of everyone.”

  He uncuffed Kyle, only for the mayor to yell at him. “Put him back in cuffs! Put both of them in jail, this instant! These super criminals are a plague to our society.”

  “No sir, one of them is innocent and the other just tried to save us.”

  “You’re fired…” the mayor growled.

  Tim pushed Kyle toward me and I grabbed him. “Time to go, kid.”

  Officers began to come toward us and Berkheimer held his hands over his head. There was no helping him at this point, but his actions wouldn’t be in vain. I backed out through the station doors, the cops outside just beginning to recover from my blast.

  “Jericho, I’m sorry.”

  Kyle’s apology surprised me. “There’s nothing to be sorry about.”

  “The man who raised you just died.”

  Again, it wasn’t lost on me that the man who was trying to console me was the same man whose own father I’d killed years ago. “It’s fine, I was planning on killing him anyway.”

  “It’s okay to feel pain. I know that better than anyone.”

  No, we weren’t having this conversation. “Ellison died years ago. This was just a monster that needed to be put down.”

  “Huh.” That was all he had left to offer.

  I’m glad that was over. “We need to get someplace safe. I have a bad feeling about things.”

  Kyle didn’t offer any resistance. “The rest of the team is at the old gl-O-bal building.”

  That worked for me. The two of us took off into the alley way and did our bet to stay in the shadows with the afternoon sun blazing down upon us.

  Things were definitely about to change…

  Chapter 27 –

  Thursday Night; gl-O-bal Industries

  “I can’t believe it.”

  Rich’s words pretty much summed up the mood of the room. In a few short hours since the death of Ellison Staley, Frank Boosman, with President Whisnant by his side, made an emergency declaration that any and all supers would be placed into “protective custody.”

  We all knew what that meant; they were rounding us up like cattle.

  “I didn’t see it playing out this way,” Father Reigart offered.

  “I don’t think any of us did.” I was at a loss. Maybe I should’ve taken over the city again.

  Andy and Wade, who had been huddled over in the corner, came over to the rest of the group. “We’re sorry, gents, but we didn’t sign up for this.”

  The old Jericho would have fried them for their lack of belief, but I could understand it. “No one’s making anyone stay here without reason. When it’s safe, whoever wants to get the hell out of here can.”

  Wilson marched right over to his dad and the two of them went towards an unoccupied part of my old workshop. Fathers and sons, who knew this would be an ongoing theme?

  Andy didn’t say much more and slunk off into his own little corner. Rich looked pissed, but he didn’t even bother to address it. Hell, after all these guys had done for me since meeting them in prison, none of them owed me anything more.

  “Where’s Phil?” Kyle asked.

  There was going to be no sugar coating this one. I told him what happened, af
ter the meeting with Ellison and how I raced over to his house. His emotions didn’t change as I told him we hacked into the mayor’s email and discovered the email that would change everything. I pulled it out of my pocket and gave it to him. I didn’t know how much use it would be now, but I still felt Kyle deserved it more than me.

  Becky was sobbing as Kyle read the email. At the end, “This changes everything.”

  I wasn’t sure how? “All that email says is that Ellison was manipulating the mayor’s memories and that your death will be about the change needed.”

  “No Jericho, Phil figured it out.”

  He handed it back to me. “What am I looking at?”

  “The words in italics.”

  So Ellison liked that feature, big deal. Annoyed, I looked over it again and after the second read, I nearly shit my pants. “That’s impossible!”

  “What is it?” Becky asked, tears still falling from her eyes but the sobbing under control.

  “Ellison’s plan all along was to transfer him own consciousness into the mayor’s body. For God’s sake, why didn’t I see that his powers could allow that?”

  By now, Father Reigart was over with us, along with Rich and Wilson. “Jericho, you were always going to see the best in the man until the proof was too overwhelming. That’s how all sons view their fathers.”

  The mood of the room very much changed. The hopelessness of everything we’d heard on the news was giving way to a newfound resolve. “There’s still a way to get rid of him,” I told everyone.

  “You’re talking about Whisnant’s plan, aren’t you?”

  “That I am, Wilson.”

  Everyone turned to Wilson, knowing he wouldn’t bullshit with what I was proposing. “Did you forget that if you use that thing, Whisnant’s suit will suck all your powers away?”

  “That’s why Kyle here is going to make sure that our dear president doesn’t get a hold of that thing afterwards. I told you before, your part is over.”

  “Is what he’s saying true, Jericho?” Kyle asked.

  “If Wilson has studied the schematics and came to that conclusion, then yes, he’s saying the likely outcome.” It was a harsh reality, but our options were slowing shrinking away. I didn’t want to give up my powers, but the idea of Ellison continuing his mad schemes wasn’t sitting well with me, either.

  “What do the kids say?” I asked. “Time to be a hero?”

  No one seemed as chipper about this as me. “First, how do we get this machine up and operating?”

  I almost laughed. “Kyle, if you don’t think for one second Whisnant doesn’t already have this ready, you’re fooling yourself. The moment I walk up to him and tell him I’m ready to do this, he’s not going to ignore the bait.”

  “You can’t tell me he won’t be ready for a double cross?”

  Again, Kyle was too much like his dad sometimes. “You’re thinking like a ration person; Whisnant isn’t. He’s a power hungry former general used to getting his own way. As long as we play this cool and keep the operation to a minimum, he won’t be prepared until it’s too late.”

  Becky raised her hand like she was in class.

  “No need for that,” I told her.

  “How do we get Volkkenkrüger in position. I’m sure there are strategic limitations on what this machine can do.”

  It appeared Wilson’s role in all of this wasn’t quite over. “Once I know where the machine is, I can calculate the trajectory of the blast and pinpoint a location. But,” he added, “we’ll have to do this in real time.”

  Erin stepped forward. “As much as I want to beat up Whisnant, I can help get Volkkenkrüger to where he needs to go.”

  “Me too,” Rich said.

  I shouldn’t have been surprised at the loyalty of the group, but I was. “Becky, do you think you can lead that team while Kyle and I take care of Whisnant?”

  “Of course! I’ll do my part, any way I can think of.”

  That just left me and Kyle. “You think we can do this?”

  “There’s only one way to find out. Let’s set up the meeting.”

  ****

  I had two hours before I was to meet President Whisnant at an address he’d text me fifteen minutes before everything was supposed to go down. I gravitated back to Father Reigart and the church for whatever reason. It was a central location in the city and there was something unique and special about the place, even if fire had ruined most of it.

  “Confessions are closed today,” the bulky Father greeted me.

  “How’s the rebuilding coming along?”

  He appraised the start of the construction work, a twinkle in his eyes. “St. James will be back, soon. A house of worship will always find its way back, as long as the believers still come.”

  That last part was a clear message to me. “It never alludes me that you, of all people, believed in me the most. You really do believe in redemption and second chances?”

  “I preach those words every Sunday, even if it’s just in a high school gym for the time being.” We both just looked out over the wreckage. “What I really believe in is good people. You’ve been manipulated for so long that you never had a chance to decide for yourself what path you want to walk down.”

  “Today I do.”

  “Being able to follow through with your own vision is an amazing thing.” His head snapped in my direction. “Part of Ellison’s plan to convince you he was dead was to remove all the fake memories from your mind. Do you miss them?”

  To be honest, I hadn’t even given that much thought. “The past is just that, Father. Having the burden gone is one thing but I just don’t care enough to rehash it all.”

  “I understand, but it is sad what he took from you.”

  Beside me, the click-clack of heels walked up and much to my surprise, Emily Robbins joined us. “You have the future to look forward to.”

  “The only future I have is getting rid of Ellison and Whisnant. After that, who knows?’

  The two of them seemed to be on edge. “Jericho, this won’t be like Victory, will it?” Reigart mustered the courage to ask.

  I wondered just how much of that little incident Emily knew about. Maybe someone had confided in her that I tried to kill myself that day and failed, obviously. “No, nothing crazy or suicidal about my latest operation. I just am not dumb enough to think that the loss of my powers or the fallout that happens thereafter won’t impact me. I’ll be vulnerable, this time for good.”

  The three of us made small talk, trying to keep the mood light. The darkness was coming, twilight, as they say, was upon us. It was in the middle of one of Reigart’s stories that the text came through. I pulled it up and nearly choked.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  “What is it?” Emily asked.

  “The address; It’s Skyline Tower.” The name slipped by both of them, not meaning a thing. “That building belongs to Ellison Staley, aka Volkkenkrüger.”

  Now that got a reaction. I couldn’t wait for one last one, either. “Skyline Tower has an electron generator underneath. The same sort of generator that gave me my powers.”

  Chapter 28 –

  Early Friday Morning; Skyline Tower

  I walked up right on time. Whisnant got out of his SUV, alone. “What changed your mind, Jericho?”

  “Sometimes the good outweighs the bad,” I said plainly. My hand was inside my pocket, holding on to the governor that Wilson engineered. “This is one of those times.”

  He still possessed that easy smile and sway to him that made him so damn likable. No wonder his approval rating was through the roof. “I’m glad to see cooler heads prevailing.”

  “How do you know about this place?”

  “One of the men working with me uncovered it. It’s an old government black site that Victory gave the order to refurbish before his death. It took me a few years, the beginning of my second term in fact, to find the order and approve it. With the secluded steps on the backside of the propert
y, we can go in and out with no one being any wiser that we’re here.”

  Too many factors played into this. I was wired so that Kyle could hear the conversation, but there was little I could say to warn him about the fact this was Ellison’s base of operations. There was a very high probability that the president was just another puppet on a string that didn’t even know he was being controlled.

  The two of us left his car out front and went around to the back where the entrance to the basement was located. Yep, from here, none of us who stayed in the top of the tower would have even seen Whisnant or his team coming or going. You couldn’t tell me that wasn’t on purpose.

  Down three flights of stairs, below even the level where Ellison housed his own electron generator, we entered Whisnant’s pride and joy. Everything from the schematics was built, including a thick power cord shot upwards. Damnit all, this was completely Ellison’s doing.

  I didn’t see him, in the body of Mayor Boosman, down here. There was just a dorky man running around with a checklist in his hand. “Ten minutes until everything is ready, sir.”

  “Jericho, this is the head of this project, Doctor Jeremiah Presley.”

  Presley didn’t even bother acknowledging me. He just kept at his work, checking different gauges and hoses.

  Seeing as how I was here, I walked over to where the suit was and looked inside. “So, being in the basement, how does this work? I thought you needed to be at the top of the tower? And what are you using as power?”

  “The beauty of all of this is Skyline Tower has a very advanced elevator system in place. With one click of the button on the wall panel, the housing where the suit conducts all the power moves to the rooftop, where it attaches to the conduit that will fire the blast,” he explained with great delight.

  “As for the power,” he grabbed Presley. “The good doctor can explain that.”

  “This tower was always meant to be used as a second electron generator station. With the machine at full capacity, we no longer needed the unreliability of nuclear energy.”