“Kane!” Leopold shouted from behind me.
Shit—I was out of time. I dropped the man and turned to face Leopold. He was standing framed in the broken doorway, with black smoke from the burning car pluming behind him.
“Look, I’m sorry about the car,” I told him.
“It’s not me you have to answer to,” he said. “My people are right around the corner. They’ll be here in a second—and they’re not happy.”
* * *
Selena and I were sitting on a plush couch in a large office. There were no windows; the only light came from multiple fixtures in the ceiling and a group of computer monitors sitting on a desk up against the wall.
We’d been sitting there for half an hour, after being brought in by Leopold before he ran off to take care of the mess Selena and I had made.
“How long is this going to take?” Samantha asked, echoing the question on my mind.
“I have no idea. Maybe they’re just making us sweat or something?” Selena asked.
I stood up, my anxiety not allowing me to sit any longer. “I have no idea. Do you think we really screwed up that bad?”
“You did blow up a car in the middle of London—a city that’s already on edge,” Samantha said.
“That’s definitely a strike against us,” Selena agreed.
A thought popped into my mind, one I realized I had to voice out loud if I wanted Samantha to hear it. “So, Samantha, you’re able to talk to both Selena and me at the same time?”
From Samantha’s hesitation to answer, I could tell she knew exactly where I was going. “Yes.”
I made eye contact with Selena, who smirked. “That’s interesting. Your powers must be working really well.”
Before Samantha had the chance to answer, the door swung open and seven people piled in.
“Thanks for waiting here,” Leopold said as he shut the door behind him.
“No problem,” I said.
Selena said nothing.
“I’d like to introduce you to my team,” Leopold said. He was standing in front of an Asian girl. “This is Ellie—or Brio, as the people of England know her.” He moved on to a boy with bright red hair and freckles. “This is Thomas.”
“Hello, there. A pleasure to meet you,” Thomas said with a slight nod.
“Likewise,” I replied.
“Then, we’ve got Nathan,” Leopold said, pointing to a young, dark-skinned guy who was wearing a suit even nicer than Leopold’s. “And, finally,” he said, pointing to Middle Eastern girl, “we’ve got Avery.”
“It’s nice to meet you all,” I said. I turned to an older-looking man and woman with stone-cold faces who were standing at the end of the group. “And what are your names?”
“This is Mr. Auder and Ms. Ava,” Leopold said, taking a step towards them. “They are our direct superiors.”
“And we’re very disappointed,” Mr. Auder said in thick British accent.
Without saying a word, Ms. Ava did her best to let us know that she did not approve.
“Somebody get this lady a drink. Sheesh,” Samantha said.
I wanted to tell her to lay off the color commentary for a few minutes, but I didn’t want the others in the room to think I was crazy.
“Well,” I said, placing my hands behind my back. “I apologize for any inconvenience we may have caused.” I made sure to make eye contact with Ms. Ava for that last part. “However, had we been given a bit of warning, we may have been able to better prepare for the situation.” I did my best to sound as smart and prepared as possible.
“What a shame. Our team knows how to adapt and prepare for any situation. I would’ve assumed that the great Tempest would be able to do that, at least,” Mr. Auder said.
Anger flashed through me, but I held it down.
“Yes, Tempest and—” Ms. Ava looked Selena up and down. “Whoever this young lady is.”
“ I assumed you’d be a little bit of a bitch. I guess you’re a lot of one,” Selena said, not hiding her annoyance.
“Hey, at least she called you a lady,” I said, joining in on the fun.
Ms. Ava’s face grew red, and Mr. Auder jumped in. “My apologies for my colleague’s behavior,” he said. “We’d actually like to offer our condolences for what has happened in the United States. We’re very sorry for the way things have turned out. Hopefully we’ll be able to keep the same thing from happening here.” Mr. Auder turned to the rest of the group. “If you all will excuse us—except for you, Leopold. It’s a bit crowded.”
Leopold nodded. “I’ll meet up with you guys later,” he said to his group.
Ellie and the rest of them left the room, leaving just me, Selena, Leopold, his superiors, and Samantha, who was watching from inside my head.
“Despite our pleasantries,” Mr. Auder began, “we’re very disappointed at the way things turned out at the pub.”
“You should never have put us in that situation,” I said. Mr. Auder and Ms. Ava looked at me, taken aback. “We came here to ask for your help. We’re in a dire situation, and you had us run your errands. That’s very inappropriate.”
Ms. Ava let out a condescending laugh. “You have to understand, of course, that we weren’t going to work with somebody we weren’t absolutely sure could operate without putting the public at risk.”
“We did our best, but things got a little out of hand. Which is something that normally happens when you’re dealing with Super-on-Super combat—something you should know,” Selena said.
They let her words bounce right off them. “In any case,” Mr. Auder said, “you still caused a threat to get out of hand and put our citizens at risk. You’ve caused quite the PR nightmare—one we’re handling, for your information.”
“I don’t give a shit—for your information,” Selena spat back.
“I think what Selena is trying to say,” I said, jumping in before things could get worse, “is that there’s really no need to test us, or whatever the hell you’re doing, when we’re going to be spending ninety-nine percent of our time in the United States.”
Mr. Auder and Ms. Ava exchanged a glance before looking at Leopold, whose gaze didn’t meet theirs.
“That’s something that should’ve been discussed with you,” Ms. Ava said, her gaze lingering on Leopold before turning to mine. “We believe that it would not be advantageous for us to launch an offensive in the States. If you were to join us, you’d have to relocate here—to England.”
I looked at Leopold, confused. He just stood there, not letting any of his emotions show. “That’s funny, because we were told the exact opposite by Leopold,” I said.
“Well, my apologies for what you may have been led to believe.”
“We were told that this would be a partnership, not that we would be working for you,” Selena said.
Mr. Auder crossed his arms and cleared his throat. “We here have deemed the United States a lost cause. We think it would be best for Atlas and the Legion to come to us, instead of the other way around. We’re sure that with your knowledge, power, and insight on their operations, we’ll be able to repel his attacks, keeping our people safe. Then, possibly at some point in the future, we could look into launching an offensive in the United States. But that’s only if we believe we can do so without an incredible loss of life. That time would come much sooner if we were to have your cooperation.”
I stood there in stunned silence, with absolutely no idea what to say. I couldn’t believe what they were asking me. Leave the United States behind and join the British? I couldn’t just leave all the people still in the States behind.
“I don’t know what you’re expecting me to say,” I said. “There are hundreds of millions of people in the United States, and you want us to just abandon them? Right now the Legion is making its way through the Northeast. There are pockets spread throughout the States, but that’s where the main group of them are. That leaves the rest of the States filled with people who have no clue what’s going on, or what th
ey should do. They’re sitting ducks for the Legion.” My voice grew louder the more I went on. Mr. Auder and Ms. Ava just stood there staring at me, unblinking.
Leopold took a small step forward. “Kane, I understand—”
“No, you don’t,” I said, interrupting him. “You do not get to talk after you lied to us.”
“I knew you wouldn’t come if I told you the truth,” he said.
“So, you thought lying was the right way to do this?” Selena snapped at him. “I don’t work with people I don’t trust. And I do not trust you.”
“What are you saying?” Ms. Ava said. “That you won’t work with us?”
The choices spread out before me like branches on a tree. I had no idea which one to pick, and my mind scrambled to figure out the right path to take. “You know you’re asking us to make an impossible decision. We can’t just leave our people—our country—behind. If you could just help us, give us some of your resources to fight of the Legion, it’d go a long way. Please.”
“Mr. Andrews, we are already giving you an option,” Mr. Auder said. “All of our resources are devoted to the protection of our country and her people. We must be ready for when the Legion makes its way east. As you saw during your disastrous altercation earlier today, members of the Legion and their Eximus weapons have already made their way to our borders. It’s only a matter of time before the war is at our doorstep, and we can’t be caught with our pants down on the bloody other side of the world!”
“Kane, we can’t just abandon our people. There’s an entire country out there counting on us,” Samantha said in my head.
“I know,” I said, looking down at the floor.
“What was that?” Ms. Ava asked.
I sighed and shook my head. “I’m sorry. We can’t retreat and leave millions of people to die.”
I thought back to what Samantha had said the other night on the roof, how I was like a sign of hope to her. Well, all over America, there were other Samanthas looking to me for hope. Probably not as many as there once had been, but I was sure they were out there. I couldn’t let them down.
“If you can’t help without having us leave our home, then I’m afraid we can’t help you,” I said.
Mr. Auder and Ms. Ava looked to each other, both obviously very frustrated. Leopold looked at us like we’d just kicked his dog.
“That is unfortunate,” Mr. Auder said finally. “But I appreciate your loyalty. That same loyalty you feel for your people is what we feel for ours. The same loyalty that tells us we can’t leave any part of our country vulnerable to attack from an enemy we do not fully understand.”
I nodded. “Yes, of course. I understand.”
“Well,” Ms. Ava said, taking a step towards the door, “I guess our business here is finished.”
“We will have two rooms prepared for you to stay in tonight. In the morning, I expect the two of you will be on your way,” Mr. Auder said, following Ms. Ava to the door.
“Thank you. We appreciate the generosity,” I said, doing my best to bite my tongue. I really wanted to give them a piece of my mind, but I knew it’d be of no use.
The two of them left, but Leopold lingered.
“Shouldn’t you be joining them?” I asked. I had no time for someone who had so blatantly lied to me. Especially someone who had given me false hope.
“Kane, you have to understand that I did what I thought had to be done,” Leopold said.
“Well, you thought wrong,” I told him, the frustration within me not holding itself back as much as it had for his superiors.
“I’m sorry,” he said, looking away. “I’ll go oversee the room preparations.”
Leopold left the room, leaving Selena and me standing there in stunned silence.
18
A NEW PLAN
The room they had for me was small. A twin-sized bed sat in one corner, and a desk in the other.
I walked to the dresser that sat opposite the bed and pulled open the drawers. Inside lay neatly folded t-shirts of varying colors, some sweats, and clean socks and underwear.
Next to the dresser was a plain gray door. I opened it, and the motion sensor lights flicked on, revealing a bathroom. I felt like leaping for joy at the thought of a shower as I turned and grabbed some clothes from the dresser.
“Samantha?” I said. “You still there?”
“Yeah. I’m working on something with Drew right now, so I’ve pulled back enough that I can just hear your voice. Why? Something you want me to see?”
“No,” I said with a chuckle. My cheeks flushed, and I felt embarrassed for some reason. “Actually the opposite. I’m about to take a shower, so could you—”
“Yeah, I—uh, of course,” she said, obviously flustered, realizing what I meant.
“Okay, cool. Just come back in, like, half an hour or so. We can talk then,” I said as I walked into the bathroom, the cool air sending a chill down my neck.
“Yeah, roger that. I mean—you betcha. I…okay. You know what I mean.” With that awkward exchange finished, she left my mind.
I shook my head and chuckled as I turned on the shower, the first burst of cold water causing my hand to jerk back. After I’d waited for a few seconds, the water was hot and steaming. I jumped in, instantly forgetting about the stress and troubles around me, instead focusing on how refreshing and invigorating the water felt.
Those thoughts didn’t stay gone for long, though, and after the initial shock of the hot water, the stress returned. I couldn’t believe that the British government wasn’t helping us. We were basically representatives of the United States, and they were denying us aid. Still, the devil’s advocate in my mind couldn’t help but see things from their point of view. They couldn’t leave their own forces weakened by the loss of a single man, not when they were up against an enemy like Atlas and the Legion.
Maybe they’d be able to reverse-engineer the Eximus blasters they’d gotten from the Supers they’d captured. Then they’d at least stand a fighting chance—although the U.S. government had made the blasters in the first place, and that hadn’t worked out too well for them.
That led to another thought: Where did these blasters keep coming from? The STF couldn’t have made that many of them, could they?
I shook my head. Yet another enemy I knew little to nothing about. Maybe one day I’d either be able to get the STF on my side, or they’d just disappear altogether. But I wasn’t betting that either of those things would happen anytime soon.
I finished cleaning myself up and spent a few more precious minutes in the shower. For a few more minutes, the outside world didn’t matter. Then I shut the water off, stepped out, grabbed a towel from the rack, and was back in the real world once again.
I slipped into my clothes—a pair of gray sweatpants and a white t-shirt—and left my room. It was a good thing I’d decided to get dressed in the bathroom, because sitting on my bed eating a sandwich was Selena.
“They brought us food. I told them I’d bring you yours,” she said, pointing to a tray sitting on the desk with a sandwich, chips—or crisps, since we were in London—and a bottle of water.
“Thanks,” I said as I sat down at the desk. I took a bite out of the sandwich, suddenly realizing how hungry I was.
“You do realize it’s only, like, the middle of the afternoon for us, right?” Selena asked in between bites of her sandwich.
I nodded as I took a big gulp of water. “Yeah, this whole jet lag thing is weird.”
“We could go back to help Samantha and the others,” Selena said.
“Yeah, we could, but I’d rather be here. Just in case.”
“Just in case what?”
I shrugged. “You know, just in case they change their mind?”
Selena rolled her eyes. “As if. You saw them. They were almost happy they could deny us help.”
“Oh, come on,” I said, waving a hand at her. “You’re projecting that.”
“Like hell I am,” she said under her breath
.
“You are! I mean, yes, it sucks. But would we do anything different? We don’t want to leave our country unprotected, and neither do they.”
Selena didn’t respond. She just became really interested in her sandwich all of a sudden.
I felt a soothing sensation in the back of my mind. “Hey, just checking—not looking,” Samantha said. “But I, uh—”
“I’m not in the shower anymore, Samantha,” I said.
“Okay, cool. I’m coming in.” The sensation in my head grew. “Ah, gross. Are there pickles on that sandwich?”
“Yeah, there’s pickles,” I said.
“Barf. I’m pulling back so I can talk in Selena’s head too. Still watching from your point of view, though,” Samantha said.
“You’re doing pretty good with your powers,” I told her.
“Yeah, you’re able to talk to both of us and you didn’t even have to kiss me!” Selena said with a sly smile.
I laughed. I could picture Samantha blushing. “Don’t worry. I understood where it was coming from.”
“Let’s not talk about that, okay?” Samantha said. “Anyway, we need to figure out what’s next. Doug’s working on something right now, but it’s a bit more difficult working with just his laptop and the equipment in his backpack.”
“Then you’ve got nothing for us right now?” Selena asked.
“Well, kinda. Doug says that the last good lead he had was Johannesburg, South Africa. Apparently there’s some Supers who have taken over the city. One in particular is acting basically as a tyrant. Doug was in contact with one of his friends that he used to play games online with, who says that there’s a group of soldiers who are trying to fight back against the Supers. If you could join in and help them take down the bad Supers, I bet they’d repay us somehow. Maybe the South African government would reward you for winning back the city.”
“If they’ve taken over Johannesburg, I doubt there’s a South African government left,” Selena said, finishing the last bit of her sandwich.
The War of the Supers (The First Superhero Book 3) Page 8
