Just Cause: Revised & Expanded Edition

by Ian Thomas Healy

  “Welcome back, Sally. How is your mother?”

  “She’s fine. She sends her best.”

  “And your grandmother?”

  “Not so good. She’s going to have to have her hips replaced.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  Sally shrugged. “It’s for the best. She’ll be in less pain afterward.”

  Juice leaned back in his chair. “Now… tell me about your investigation.”

  Sally cleared her throat, nervous all over again. Stick to the facts, she told herself. Let him ask the questions, let him make the decisions on how to proceed.

  “So you’re saying you believe he’s trying to create an army of parahumans?” asked Juice after Sally finished her briefing.

  “Yeah, I really think that’s what he’s trying to do. Destroyer has the technological skills to recreate that original experiment with a higher rate of success. And if he’s using the local population, it would explain why the Antimatter Woman came from the same area.”

  “And he has a pet psi to keep everyone in line and teleport out the ones who are the worst?”

  “He’s got to, or else the Antimatter Woman would still be down there on a rampage through Central America in search of power.”

  “Too dangerous to keep around as part of his army, so he teleported her away,” said Juice. “It’s a good theory, Sally. You’ve tied it all together very nicely.”

  “But?”

  “No buts, Sally. I might consider the idea of an artificially-created parahuman farfetched if we hadn’t had to deal with the Antimatter Woman. It could be a coincidence that she turned up when she did. God knows, coincidence has certainly been the providence of parahuman history. Are you familiar with Occam’s Razor?”

  “Aren’t they a band?”

  Juice smiled. “Probably. But in this case, it’s a method of solving a problem. Essentially it means that given multiple theories behind a specific outcome, the simpler explanations are generally better than more complex ones.”

  “Generally isn’t very scientific.”

  “No, but it’s a reasonable assumption. Your theory ties together Destroyer, the Kaiser fellow, Guatemala, and the Antimatter Woman quite reasonably.”

  “Thanks, sir. I mean, Juice.”

  He smiled. “Now I’m afraid I have to play devil’s advocate here for a moment. I know you have a lot of personal history tied up with Destroyer. I can’t help but wonder if you’re trying to attribute too much to him.”

  “I don’t understand,” said Sally.

  “Have you considered that perhaps he’s just down in Guatemala to acquire something from this Kaiser fellow, after which he’d simply return to whatever construes his current work?”

  “N-no.” Sally suddenly felt only about six inches tall. “What could he only get in Guatemala that he couldn’t get here?”

  “You tell me, Sally.”

  “I can’t think of anything.”

  “James,” said Sondra. “She’s not on the witness stand.”

  “My apologies, Sally. No further questions.”

  Sally sat back in her chair. Her hands shook as if she had just gone through a Three-Minute Drill in the Bunker. Sondra reached over and squeezed her shoulder in a friendly way.

  Juice leaned forward. His chair creaked with the shift of his weight. “Sally, I’m proud of you. This theory is solid, and right or wrong, I’m going to present it to Homeland Security as part of my argument why we should be cleared to go investigate the matter ourselves.”

  “Really?”

  “Really. Good work, kiddo.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  “The problem with being the world’s policemen is that the world usually doesn’t want policing. American parahumans have characteristically been unwelcome beyond our own borders. Since parahuman abilities aren’t constrained by political boundaries, other countries are as likely as not to possess parahumans of their own.”

  -Dr. Lane Devereaux, appearing on Larry King Live, March 4, 1993

  February, 2004

  Denver, Colorado

  “We’re cleared to go to Guatemala,” announced Juice at the first-of-the-month meeting.

  “How’d you swing that, boss?” Jack stopped toying with his pen and looked up with interest.

  “Sally put together a very convincing argument for further investigation which I relayed to Homeland Security.”

  Jack grinned at her. “Good job, Sally. What argument?”

  Sally blushed. “I think Destroyer is working with a guy my grandparents fought to artificially create parahuman abilities.” She took a sip from her caramel latte. Between Jason and Jack, she’d experimented with coffee and had discovered a weakness for the frothy sweet beverages. As long as she mixed decaf and regular shots, the jitters didn’t get too bad.

  “And the right people at Homeland Security agree with her assessment, which is why they’re sending us in,” Juice said. “There is a catch, though.”

  “Always is,” Jack muttered.

  “With the complications in Iraq and the terror threat high, Homeland Security isn’t allowing the whole team to travel to Central America. They’re going to let four of us go. The rest stay here on heightened alert status.”

  Grumbles resounded around the table. Since the early days of Just Cause, whenever the team split up, missions became more complicated. It was always better to have the entire team present to give the field commander maximal options when making spot decisions.

  “Stacey will be in command of the mission, and she’s selected her team. Stace?”

  Doublecharge stood. “This will be a reconnaissance mission in a foreign country, not a combat mission. Jack, Jay, and Sally are with me.”

  Jack sighed. “Super. I hear the wet season doesn’t start for two more months.”

  Sondra touched Sally’s hand. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Sally, because this is in no way a reflection of your capabilities.” She turned to Doublecharge. “I’m going on record as against Sally’s participation in this assignment. She’s an intern, not a full member. This could be a very dangerous mission and she’s been with us only a month.”

  “Three reasons.” Doublecharge ticked them off on her fingers. “First, she’s already proved that she’s very capable in the use of her powers. Second, her investigative efforts are directly responsible for us even being allowed to go there at all.” Her eyes narrowed at the rest of the team. “I notice none of you took that extra step. And neither did I, for that matter.”

  “Easy, Stacey,” said Juice.

  Doublecharge cleared her throat. “Finally, besides Jack and Sondra, she’s the only one on the team who speaks Spanish.”

  Sally sank lower in her seat, somehow embarrassed by the attention.

  Jason raised a hand. “Stacey, I speak some Spanish.”

  Jack snorted. “The menu at Taco Bell doesn’t count.”

  “Sorry, Jason,” said Doublecharge. “Sally’s had five years of it. She’s fluent.”

  Jason shrugged, miserable. “I’d still come along.”

  “Not this time. I’m sorry.” Doublecharge touched a key on her terminal. “I’m sending what little mission briefing I have to each of you. We leave in two days. If you have questions, you can ask me later.”

  Jack lifted a hand. “How do I get—” A tiny bolt of lightning shot across the table to hit him square in the teeth. It didn’t hurt him, of course, but startled him into silence. Doublecharge lowered the finger that she’d pointed at him.

  “I meant any legitimate questions.”

  “And on that note, we’ll consider this meeting adjourned,” said Juice, intervening before anything else could happen.

  Outside the conference room, Sally slipped her small hand into Jason’s great palm. She took comfort in the way he gently squeezed it. “Walk me to my room?” She asked.

  “It’d be my pleasure.”

  Neither of them spoke to each other during the short trip back to the dormitory
. Sally keyed her door and noticed Jason’s nervously shuffling feet. “Do you, uh, want to come in?” she asked, not daring to look into his eyes. Her mind whirled like an out-of-control carousel.

  “Sure.”

  The door slid shut silently. Sally made a couple frantic laps of her suite to pick up stray underwear and rolled-up socks. Jason’s hair flapped in the breeze that swirled in her wake.

  “Sorry,” she said, embarrassed. “I’m a terrible housekeeper.” She neglected to turn on the suite lights, which left the room, bathed in the low light from her terminal’s screensaver.

  “It’s okay,” Jason smiled, and then they stood very close to each other, the contours of his cheekbones highlighted in the dim lighting and his eyes sparkling pools of obsidian. “I’m… going to miss you.” His voice was husky.

  “It was very sweet of you to offer to come along. I don’t even know how long we’ll be gone. Maybe just a couple of days.”

  “You should probably check the briefing,” he offered.

  “In a minute.” Sally surprised herself with her conviction as she reached up, grabbed hold of Jason’s sweatshirt hood and pulled herself up to his face level. His arms encircled her legs to support her gently with muscles that could bend girders. She kissed him hard and tasted his lips and tongue with hers. He staggered backward, caught his leg on the couch, and jarred her loose as he sat down hard.

  “Sorry,” he mumbled. “Clumsy.”

  “That’s okay,” she said, her voice shrill. “It was kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing.”

  He rubbed a hand across his jaw and smiled through a deep blush of his own.

  Sally turned away quickly and slid into the chair by her computer desk. “I better check that briefing… see how long we’re going to be gone.”

  “Shorter would definitely be better.” Jason moved over to her and knelt down so he could read over her shoulder. He used the proximity as an opportunity to nuzzle her neck.

  She gently slapped him away. “Stop.” She tried to be authoritative. “I’m working.”

  “Mmm.” He blew a gentle breath on the back of her neck, right where her two braids parted. It made her delicious and shivery inside.

  Sally sped through the mission briefing. As Doublecharge had implied, there wasn’t much: try to locate Destroyer; try to find a positive connection to the Antimatter Woman; try to find a positive connection to Heinrich Kaiser; objective is to gain intelligence, not to engage; projected mission length of two weeks. Two weeks?

  “That’s crazy,” she said aloud. “I can’t spend two weeks down there.”

  Jason spun her chair around to face him. “Maybe she’ll let you come home on the weekends. How long would it take you to run that far?”

  Sally fiddled with her hands because she didn’t know what to do with them. “It’s south of Mexico. That’s a long way.” She draped her restless hands around his neck, which immediately felt better. “Furthest I’ve ever run in one stretch was from Phoenix to Anaheim.” She smiled wistfully. “I went to Disneyland.”

  “Well, look at the bright side,” Jason said. “You get to take an extra-long Spring Break in the tropics a month before everyone else does.”

  Sally kissed him again and rested her forehead against his and drank in the scent of his skin. It was nice. “Do you want to stick around for awhile?” She felt her skin prickle from a ferocious blush.

  “Sure.”

  “Good.” She covered his mouth with hers.

  They kissed for some time. Sally wasn’t quite sure when they wound up on the couch. He leaned back and rested his head on the overstuffed arm, and she half-laid, half-sat on him. He reached a tentative hand under her blouse to caress his fingertips across her back. The heat rose off them in palpable waves and made her feel like she was back in Phoenix. Without stopping herself to think about it, she lifted her blouse off completely. This was better, but she wanted to feel his skin too, and helped him yank off his sweatshirt. Little golden curls of hair dotted his massive chest and washboard abs.

  Back at the Hero Academy, she and the other girls in the dorm sat up many late nights and compared notes on who were the hottest boys, who would be the best kissers, and what really happened when you had sex. Only one girl had actually hooked up with a boy in school, or at least admitted to it. At the time, Sally had been convinced that she would never want to have a boy do that to her. Now, though, she felt desire quiver through her that could only be fulfilled by giving all of herself to him.

  Sally felt like taking a chance. In one definitive motion, Sally slipped her sports bra over her head and sat up to allow Jason to drink in the sight of her. “I want you.”

  He nodded, his eyes as wide as saucers. “Should I, uh, run back to my room for a minute? I gotta get, you know, something.”

  “It’s okay. I’m on the pill.” Her mother had lost her virginity at Woodstock, when she was only fifteen. She’d put Sally on the pill as soon as she left for the Academy. I know you’ll be smart, she had said, but I don’t want to take any chances.

  She lifted his hands up to cup her breasts. He caressed them and brushed his fingertips across her nipples with curious delight. “Are you sure?”

  “Mm… yes,” she said. “You know what to do, right?”

  “Um, I think so. I mean, of course.”

  “Good.” She bent forward and kissed him again, hard. “Because it’s kind of my first time.”

  They shed their remaining clothing and scattered it about the room. Sally rolled onto the floor, Jason matched her every move. He supported himself on his arms so he wouldn’t crush her.

  Sally’s perceptions flipped into full acceleration to allow her to experience every nuance of sensation. She immersed herself in the sensuality of touch, from the initial sharp pain to the waves of pleasure that followed. Musky, exciting scents swirled around her and made her gasp. She hadn’t known something could feel so good. If she had, she reasoned later, she’d have been having sex a lot earlier in her life. His muscles felt like iron sheathed in velvet, his breath hot in her ear, stubble on her cheek. She felt something building up and wrapped her legs around Jason’s back to pull him even closer. His muscles clenched, he closed his eyes, and stopped moving. Sally could feel him, hot like a steel ingot, and then… nothing. It was like a door starting to open then shutting in her face. She gasped again, but from an overwhelming sense of disappointment.

  “I’m sorry!” Jason panted. “Did I hurt you?”

  She squeezed her arms and legs tighter around him as she tried to regain that sensation of going up the roller coaster hill, but to no avail. “No,” she managed to whisper at last.

  The look of concern on Jason’s face was so earnest and honest that she broke into giggles. “Sally?”

  She hugged him, and then realized she was crying even while laughing. She felt a sudden panic starting to creep in around the edges. “I’ll be right back.”

  “Sure thing,” he said as he pulled on his briefs.

  Sally retreated to her bathroom and locked the door. She gulped down a glass of water and then cleaned herself up. She felt a twinge of disgust at the smear of blood on her thigh. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and glared at her reflection. She should have been feeling sexy and glowing. Instead, she felt a little sick to her stomach and shocked that she’d just given up her virginity. “You’re a superhero, stupid. You faced Destroyer. You can face this.” She scolded her reflection. She wrapped her bathrobe around herself.

  Jason lay on the floor, wearing only his shorts, with his hands behind his head. He yawned. “Anything in your fridge? I’m starving.”

  “No, silly. I only eat in the cafeteria, because I don’t cook. I’ll burn a pot of water if you give me half a chance.” She made herself calm down, to bring back a semblance of normalcy.

  “Really? I’ll have to cook for you one of these days. You like jambalaya?”

  “That’s Cajun, right?”

  “One of my many specialties. I’
m a closet chef, but only for a few select friends. And for my girlfriend.”

  “Is she prettier than me?” Sally asked. “I’m kidding,” she said as she saw an expression of mock hurt cross his face.

  Somebody knocked at her door. Jason grabbed his pants and made a discreet exit into the bedroom.

  “Salena? It’s Harris. Got your luggage for you.”

  She opened the door and smiled nervously at Harris. The short, balding man held up a nondescript black pull-along suitcase. “Custom bag for your trip. Were you sleepin’? I’m sorry if I woke you up.”

  Sally’s hands flew to her head of their own accord. One of her braids had come undone, and the untamed hair flopped about. She began to plait it again as a way to burn off her tension. “Uh, yeah. I was. Sleeping, that is.” She forced a yawn.

  “Sure,” said Harris. “Everyone else has one of these but you. It’s for when you gotta travel incognito. There are two complete costumes in special compartments here… and here.” He pointed out two nondescript pockets. “One’s all black for night work. They’re vacuum-packed and compressed into the smallest possible space. I’ll personally guarantee that you won’t raise any suspicions at any airport security, no matter where you go. You open one up, you better plan to wear it because you’ll never crush it back into place once you break the seal.”

  Sally nodded and hoped he’d wrap up his spiel as quickly as possible so he’d just leave.

  He glanced past her into the darkened room beyond. She imagined he’d seen everything, and felt herself flush. She yanked the case from his grasp. “Thanks very much, Harris. I’ll get busy packing right away. Goodbye.” She backed into her room and shut the door as fast as she dared. She dropped the valise on the floor and stepped into the bedroom.

  Jason had stretched out on her bed, his hands behind his head and his eyes shut. She thought he might be asleep but he spoke without opening his eyes. “Harris?”

  “Yeah,” she said.

  “The man’s a menace. Hell of a quartermaster, but has the worst timing in the world. He’s always showing up at just the wrong time.”