Big Ape_Lawless Book Two
Page 28
“How?” I whimpered, as tears rolled down my cheeks.
She pulled away, holding my hands as she looked up into my face. “You thought I was dumb enough to go to that press conference in person? I sent one of my clones!”
“But…but… but why are you here? Why would you join the Legion after… I mean, with your book… and with everything that’s happened…”
“She approached us,” said Golden Victory. “She was worried for your safety. Thought the Legion was hunting you to silence you about the Butterfly House. She said she’d renounce everything she’d put into the book if we agreed not to harm you. Not that we ever intended to hurt either of you.”
“Everything’s okay,” she said. “It was all a big misunderstanding. I’m so sorry I didn’t let you in on my plan to send a double.”
“But… the Butterfly House.” I wiped the tears from my cheeks. “You hated it. You told the truth.”
“The truth as I understood it,” she said. “After Golden Victory and I talked about the Butterfly House, I finally got it. You and I thought of it as a prison. But look at the good it’s done! I mean, it saved John’s life. And John’s helped save the world. I mean, the continued existence of the world is a pretty convincing argument that the Butterfly House is a good idea. So, I’ve explained that the book is actually a work of fiction that I marketed as real to boost sales. I’ve apologized that things got so out of hand. And, to really shut up the hardcore believers, I joined the team. I finally feel like I have a purpose in life.”
I looked at her, slack-jawed. This wasn’t the Val I knew. For one thing, I seldom saw her smile like this while she was sober. She seemed so positive. Downright cheerful. Val had many fine qualities, but cheerfulness wasn’t among them. Had she been brainwashed?
“Don’t look so surprised, Harry,” said Golden Victory. “We’re the good guys. We never wanted to hurt Val. Our mission is to bring out the hero in anyone willing to serve. How about it? Can we add you to the roster once more?”
“Say yes,” said Val, smiling as she squeezed my hands.
“Yes,” I said, softly.
She squealed with delight and threw her arms around me.
“Excellent,” said Golden Victory. “I’ll tell Retaliator. He was certain you’d say no, but I never had any doubt.” He went to the door and gave me a crisp salute. “Welcome back, Big Ape.”
He left. Val let go and stepped back.
“Val,” I whispered. “Did… did they…”
“Brainwash me?” she asked. “No.”
“How would you know? Part of the brainwashing is that you won’t remember the brainwashing.”
She nodded. “That does make our job tougher,” she said. “We won’t know who to trust.”
“Our job?” I asked. “What job?”
She came close, rose to her tiptoes, and threw her arms around my neck. She put her lips against my ear and whispered, in the softest voice she could manage, “Valentine is dead. At least the old Valentine. When you last saw me, you knew me as Echo. I know these bastards killed her. Will you help me prove it? Even if it’s just the two of us against the entire Lawful Legion?”
“Even if it’s just the two of us against the world,” I whispered back.
The adventure continues in VICTORY: Lawless Book Three.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JAMES MAXEY’S mother warned him if he read too many comic books, they would warp his mind. She was right. Now an adult who can’t stop daydreaming, James is unsuited for decent work and ekes out a pittance writing down demented fantasies about masked women, fiery dragons, and monkeys. Oh god, so many monkeys.
Readers interested in sampling Maxey’s odd ramblings might enjoy his science-fantasy Bitterwood series, the secondary world fantasy of his Dragon Apocalypse novels, his superhero novels Nobody Gets the Girl, Burn Baby Burn, and Covenant, or the steam-punk visions of Bad Wizard. His short fiction has appeared in IGMS, Asimov’s, and over a dozen anthologies, with the best of his work appearing in the collections There is No Wheel and The Jagged Gate. In 2015, James was selected as the Piedmont Laureate.
James lives in Hillsborough, North Carolina with his lovely and patient wife Cheryl and too many cats. To learn more about James and his writing, visit jamesmaxey.net, or sign up for his mailing list by emailing him at nobodynovelwriter@yahoo.com. Follow him on Twitter @JamesAllenMaxey.