‘I’ve become used to it,’ Cygnus replied. ‘The first time I did it… Well, I was scared as Hell, actually, but the second time I started thinking it was pretty cool. Sometimes, when I’m just hovering over the city, New Millennium, and it’s just me, a few birds, and the wind… It’s still a bit of a thrill then, but mostly it’s just a way to get around.’
‘The second time she did it, she was carrying me,’ June said. ‘I was scared and thrilled at the same time.’
‘The landing was a bit clumsy. I’ve got better.’
‘I don’t think I’d ever get over flying without an aircraft,’ Bianca said. ‘Um, is there anything I should know about this stupid business with the UID? We have the SFPD chief coming to the party, but no one from UID, so that shouldn’t be an issue. I figure if anyone asks me about it, I’ll just say it’s none of my business.’
‘That about covers it,’ Cygnus told her. ‘It has nothing to do with me being here, and I’m not allowed to discuss it, so it’s a non-issue. Or should be. Someone will ask about it, but they should also know they won’t get an answer.’
‘Right. Well, this suite is booked for you through tomorrow. If you feel like staying over longer, we’ll move you to my place.’
‘Oh… Even if I do feel like being out of New Millennium right now, I think we’d better get back. They haven’t given us dates for the interviews yet, but they’ll get to that soon enough.’
~~~
Damian walked through the reception area of the Bayview Grand Hotel with his head down. The kid in the car park downstairs had directed him to the ‘Grand Ballroom’ and there were signs indicating where that was, but to get there meant walking past reporters of various kinds. There were TV cameras!
Off on the left of the wide foyer, Damian spotted the local senator, a retired actor Damian had not voted for, holding forth on something or other for a TV reporter. To the right, the attractive, blonde form of Lament could be seen, in her customary costume of a green-and-gold asymmetric gown, smiling for another camera. There were local politicians, actors, and a lot of people Damian had no clue about. Wondering what he had got himself into, Damian headed for the stairs at the back of the room which led up to the ballroom.
Thankfully, no one seemed to know who he was, so the reporters ignored him, but as he got to the top of the steps, a woman started toward him with clear intent and he paused. Her dark skin was in sharp contrast to the flowing, pale-blue gown she was wearing and he had the vague feeling he should know who she was, but no name was springing to mind.
‘You’re Damian, right?’ the woman said, smiling brightly.
‘Uh, yeah…’
She stuck out her hand. ‘Elaine Ellis. Bianca asked if I’d come make sure you made it in safely.’
Damian took the offered hand. ‘Hello, Elaine. Um, do I know you from–’
‘Maybe. The Stars call me Backroom. I don’t get out much, but you might have seen my picture. I mean, the name’s a giveaway, right? Anyway, Bianca’s having to do interviews’ – Elaine rolled her eyes in a particularly expressive display of weariness with that requirement – ‘so I said I’d get you out of the scrum.’
‘Right…’ Backroom was, if Damian remembered right, the technical genius behind the San Francisco Stars. She was not an Ultra, which was a tiny bit surprising, but then brains did not have to mean super-powers… ‘I saw Lament on the way through.’
‘In front of a camera?’
‘Uh, yeah, she was.’
‘Figures. Come on in. I’ll introduce you to some people with smaller egos.’ She turned and started off into the ballroom. ‘Bianca is hoping to get away as soon as possible. She’s really not that happy when she has to do the PR thing.’
‘How do you know her?’
‘I work for her. Crime-fighting doesn’t pay bills. Robotics, mostly.’
‘Ah, right. Didn’t you build Ultramech?’
‘Yeah, uh-huh. And I keep him from falling apart. I mean, can you see me beating up slave smugglers? So I built someone to do that kind of stuff for me. He mentioned you.’
‘Oh.’ Damian’s embarrassment over that was warring for attention with his shock at the sight of the throng in the ballroom. He was not really sure who most of them were, but they were almost certainly more famous than he was and they were all in expensive-looking outfits. And then there was the room itself, which was big and opulent. No less than four crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Tables groaning with food stood on either side of the room and there was a stage of some sort set up at the back.
‘He said Mink seemed to like you,’ Elaine went on. ‘That probably puts you into a collection of cops you could count on one hand.’
‘I think I was in the way more than anything.’
‘The way I heard it, you were the one who found out about that shipment. Don’t put yourself down. Everyone’s got talents.’ They seemed to be heading for one of the rear corners with some purpose, though Damian was not sure why. ‘I’m good with electronics. Bianca’s into some sports I wouldn’t dare try. Mink’s trained to be what she is since… God knows when.’
Elaine now seemed to be making a beeline toward a couple, both women, who were standing in the corner, chatting, with glasses of wine in their hands. Both were tall, the effect enhanced by high heels, and both were stunning to look at. Maybe the blonde had something the brunette lacked, though it was something undefinable, an almost supernatural quality which suggested some sort of Ultrahuman, but they both looked like models. They wore gowns which complemented each other: the same basic design, strapless, straight, floor-length, and split to the hip down the right leg. The brunette was in a vibrant, silky red. The blonde was in white, with a framework of silver around the bodice.
‘What talents do those two have?’ Damian asked.
Elaine giggled. ‘Aside from the obvious?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Well, June designed their dresses. Made them herself too.’ Elaine came to a stop beside the two, grinning.
‘Elaine,’ the brunette said, shaking her head, ‘we have to talk about your wardrobe.’
‘We do?’ Elaine looked down at her dress, which was fitted around her bust and then flowed out from there.
‘Uh-huh. You’re trying to hide the booty, aren’t you? The booty is not to be hidden. It is to be gloried in.’
‘I think I prefer keeping it under wraps. Otherwise I have to have a rapper for a boyfriend and that is just not happening. So, introductions. June Summerfield, this is Detective Damian Inman.’
June smiled and held out her hand. ‘Detective. I’ve heard good things about you.’
Damian shook her hand and raised an eyebrow. ‘You have?’
‘Well, one good thing, but I trust the source. We only got in at lunchtime and Bianca’s been running around like a mad thing this afternoon.’
‘Not how I’d want to spend my birthday,’ the blonde commented.
‘And this,’ Elaine said, indicating the blonde woman, ‘is Cygnus.’
Damian turned and took Cygnus’s hand almost without thinking. It was a little like being hit in the face with a sledgehammer. The sheer power he felt was incredible and it had to show in his face because she looked concerned. ‘Are you all right, Detective?’ Cygnus asked.
‘Yes. I’m fine. You’re an Ultrahuman?’
Cygnus smiled. ‘You don’t pay much attention to the news, I take it? Though… If you want to be technical, it does depend on who you talk to.’
Damian frowned. ‘I’m not a big news watcher, no. But, um, surely you’re an Ultra or not?’
‘According to Doctor Ultimate,’ June said, ‘she’s probably not. Something to do with the way she manipulates cosmic energy.’
‘Ultrahumans,’ Elaine said, ‘shape and direct cosmic energy. Ultramech mimics the same trick.’
‘I… produce it,’ Cygnus said. ‘So I’m an Ultra, common version of the term, but I may not be an Ultrahuman in the technical, scientific sense. An
yway, at the moment I’m just a civilian, and one that’s kind of pleased you don’t seem to know why. Bianca said you worked Vice.’
Damian was self-aware enough to realise that various deeper parts of his brain were fighting over whether to like or hate this woman. She was some sort of Ultra, a really powerful one, but she was just so… Beautiful did not quite cut it, but it was what he had. He could at least be civil. ‘That’s right.’
‘Damian was in the local papers recently,’ Elaine supplied. ‘Stopped some people smuggling a truckload of young women out of the country.’
‘I had help,’ Damian said quickly. ‘Mink and Ultramech did most of the work.’
‘You met Mink?’ June asked. ‘I heard she was more secretive than Twilight.’
‘And Ultramech,’ Cygnus added, turning a beaming smile on Elaine. ‘I have to meet him before we leave. I’m sorry, but I need my geek fix.’ The beautiful, angular face, the figure off a glamour magazine, the voice that melted your insides, and suddenly she was a fan-girl and the effect was a little jarring as well as being almost too human for the almost alien woman in the long, white gown.
Elaine giggled. ‘I’ll arrange something.’
‘Twilight’ll hate you,’ June predicted, and then looked around at Elaine and Damian to explain. ‘She works in a comic shop. Cygnus was always a little bit of an Ultra fan before she was Cygnus. Twilight can actually tell you which obscure issue of which comic which unknown Ultra came out as gay in, or something.’
‘I, uh, don’t have much to do with Ultras,’ Damian said. ‘I’d never met any until the other night. Vice doesn’t tend to attract them.’
Cygnus laughed, deep and resonant. ‘I assure you it does. But I don’t think you meant it like that. Muggers and drug dealers probably make up ninety per cent of the people I’ve run in. Maybe it’s different in San Francisco. I’m from New Millennium City.’
‘The Stars do tend to do violent crime more than vice,’ Elaine said.
‘Enough shop talk.’ Bianca stepped in, right beside Damian. ‘Birthday party. No shop talk until we’re too drunk to realise we’re doing it.’
‘Fine by me,’ Cygnus said. ‘As long as you provide us with something else to talk about.’
Bianca frowned and pursed her lips. ‘Sex is always good. And hello, Damian, I’m glad you could make it. The tux looks good on you.’
‘Uh, thanks. You really shouldn’t have–’
Bianca waved a hand. ‘I flew these two out from New Millennium. It’s my birthday, I get the guests I want’ – she turned to scan the room behind her – ‘as well as all the ones I have to invite.’
‘I think that’s shop talk,’ Elaine commented.
‘You might be right.’
‘Okay,’ June said, grinning, ‘back to fashion since Damian’s tuxedo came up. Bianca, do you think Elaine needs to show off that booty more?’
Elaine shrank a little and turned to Damian. ‘Save me?’
‘Sorry, I’m just one man surrounded by four attractive women. I have no chance at all.’
~~~
‘Cygnus, do you have a moment? Lydia Feltz with the Bayview Chronicle.’
Cygnus turned to find a short, blonde woman wearing a form-fitting, dark-blue gown and clutching a notepad and pen. There were not many people from the press in the ballroom and, since Feltz was not trying to hide what she was doing, Cygnus figured the Bayview Chronicle had some sort of in with FTI. ‘I can spare a couple of minutes,’ Cygnus said, ‘but I’m just here as a guest, not an Ultra.’
‘Of course. You’re usually seen in New Millennium City, but you’re here as a guest of Miss Fullerton. How do you know her?’
‘Well, I don’t really. She met a friend of mine, June Summerfield, and looked after her for a while in May. So, I’m a plus-one.’
‘I see. Is there some romance there?’
‘Well, I really prefer not to discuss my private life. The last time people knew much about it, I lost my boyfriend.’
‘Yes, of course. And you were then accused of his murder.’
‘So you see why I’m not keen to discuss things like that.’
Feltz made a couple of notes and tried a different angle. ‘That’s a beautiful dress and modelled after your usual costume, I think.’
‘Same designer. June again. She thought I should have something for formal occasions, especially since I’m an associate member of the Union of Ultrahumans now. So she designed, and made, this for me.’
‘A talented woman.’
‘Talented, beautiful. Really she’s just the kind of woman you’d hate if she wasn’t so nice. We did the Everglades calendar together.’
Feltz nodded and scribbled notes. ‘Of course. I thought I knew the name. There are a couple of them around the office.’ She gave a little grimace. ‘Look, sorry, I know what you’re going to say, but my editor will do something unspeakable to me if I don’t ask about this suspension of your UID registration.’
Cygnus nodded. ‘Well, you can tell your editor you asked and that I said “no comment.” I can’t talk about it.’ She held up a hand as Feltz opened her mouth. ‘I know someone’s broken the gag order, but I won’t.’
‘The information released seemed rather calculated. It was kind of damning, even if some press research has shed new light on it. You don’t want to add your own twist?’
‘I’d love to give my side of things, Miss Feltz. I really would. But if I do that, I’m in the wrong, and I simply won’t do it.’
Feltz smiled. ‘Oh, believe me, I can make some good copy out of that. Want my advice? Stand on your principles. Everyone knows the leak came out of the government or one of the agencies.’
Cygnus laughed. ‘No comment again, but thanks. You seem to like Ultras.’
‘Oh, Hell, I’d be dead without Ultras. Guy with a gun last year. Bonehead and Fuego stopped him.’
‘I’m glad the Stars are doing their job. I just wish I could get back to mine.’
~~~
‘So you don’t really like Ultras,’ Bianca said.
Damian thought, for a second, about lying, but somehow he figured she would know. ‘I’m not exactly fond of them, no.’
‘Any reason?’
‘Oh, lots of them that often don’t apply to specific cases when it actually comes down to it and… Honestly, I think it’s just a prejudice I picked up from my father and it’s too ingrained to really shift. He was just prejudiced enough to call them all “mutants” and view them as monsters. I know they aren’t, but…’
‘It can be hard to shift a mental image like that. You seemed pretty okay with Cygnus. A little stiff, but nothing too bad.’
‘You noticed that… Well, it’s kind of hard to think mean thoughts about someone who looks like her. If you’re a heterosexual male anyway.’
‘Oh, I think she’s gorgeous and I’m a straight woman. Lament, on the other hand, has been looking daggers at her whenever they’re anywhere near each other. I can’t really say anything bad about Ultras given that some of our best technology has come out of studying them. Elaine’s work on Ultramech has produced some amazing advances.’
‘He’s quite a… person.’
Bianca smiled. ‘Elaine would be very pleased to hear you say that. I need to circulate. Try to talk to Cygnus a little. She’s more than just a great body.’
‘I’ll, uh, try to do that.’
~~~
The cool, clear voice rang out across the ballroom, unaided by amplification. Lament was singing a popular ballad which Cygnus did not really like, but the local heroine was certainly singing it well.
‘She’s pretty good,’ Cygnus commented. ‘She’s not…’
‘Using her powers?’ Elaine suggested. ‘Not on a number like this. She needs relatively pure tones. And you can hear it, sort of. The sound is multi-harmonic with some ultrasonics rolled in, not really music as such. No, she’s just good with her voice.’ Smirking, Elaine leaned in a little closer. ‘Bianca’s actually a
better singer, but don’t tell Lament that.’
‘My lips are sealed. So why does she hate my guts?’
‘Oh, your guts are probably not an issue. Skin, eyes, hair, boobs, legs… Pretty much the whole of your outside. She only gets on with Muse because the girl tends to avoid upstaging our glorious leader. Muse is a little… abstract.’
‘Dali’s Muse is abstract. Who’d have thought it?’ Smiling, Cygnus reached out for the glass of wine June had just arrived with. ‘Oh, thanks, love.’
‘No problem,’ June replied. ‘I found a detective wandering, lost and lonely.’ Damian was trailing along behind her.
‘Bianca abandoned you to the trials of having to be sociable?’ Cygnus asked.
‘I’m not sure “abandoned” is the right word,’ Damian replied.
‘Saved you from it, perhaps?’
‘Pretty sure Bianca would like someone to save her from it,’ Elaine said. ‘Can you dance, Damian?’
‘Uh… badly.’
‘Don’t worry, Bianca will make it easy for you.’
Damian’s eyebrows went up. ‘Is there anything she’s bad at?’
‘Um… no. Well, she’s no scientist, but physical stuff… She’s got all the physical stuff pretty much wrapped up. She learned the social stuff so she could handle being a Fullerton, which is probably why she hasn’t beaten anyone to death with a tray or run screaming from the room. But what she really loves doing is using her body.’ Elaine frowned a little. ‘That may have come out wrong.’
‘It sounded just right to me,’ June said. ‘And she’s using it, just not for sport. That dress suits her body type perfectly. Plain, string-strapped, floor-length, perfectly fitted. Shows off her musculature, doesn’t draw the eye from her face. And the side split shows off her legs. She has great legs.’
Cygnus grinned. ‘I’m glad I’m not the jealous type.’
‘You have great legs too.’
‘Right back at you, but I’m going to suggest you have one thing wrong about the dress.’
Hunting Mink Page 10
