“I need to go check on PJ, but in the meantime, take the rest of the week off. You’ve earned it.”
He was walking away, yet I had one last question. “You think this is all over, with the shady government connections and everything?”
DL sighed. “It’s as over as it is going to be for us. The core is out of the city and the corrupt captain has been arrested. Sometimes they don’t come any more gift wrapped than that.”
A blasted Christmas pun. “You know what? Christmas is next week. I’m taking vacation through the twenty-sixth.”
“Fair enough. Just turn out the light when you are able to get on out of here.”
About an hour later, my shoulder was feeling a tad better and I was ready to head back to my apartment. I looked back at the control room one last time. “Yeah, I think this is where I need to be, for the time being.”
Chapter 15 –
Christmas Day; Alameda Apartment Complex
I flicked the power on the old goggles and this time, they came to life. A nice radiant yellow color shined through, looking very intimidating. I pushed them over my eyes and saw the world in a whole new way. Maybe one day I’d have to work myself up a pair of these.
I fixed up the dings and scratches, too. They looked almost brand new. Figuring if I was going to do this, I’d do it right, I dropped them into a brown paper bag and wrote Merry Christmas in black pen on the bag. Planning to drop these off later, I had one other stop to make today.
I pulled up to the Cieslik house. I’m not sure why, I felt really bad about having to kill him the way I did. My guilt had spurred me to go out and buy a six pack and come over on Christmas. I knocked on the door and waited to see what would happen.
Danielle, Erin’s wife opened the door. “Jericho?” Her eyes were red and puffy, obviously from crying. “What’re you doing here?”
The real reason was something I’d have to keep to myself. Instead, “I figured you could use a drink and a friend today.”
She let me in and I saw the kids playing with some toys by a fully decked out Christmas tree. “Erin loved Christmas, that’s for sure.”
I plucked two beers from pack and handed her one. “Erin was a pretty decent guy. You think he’s still out there?”
She took a long sip before shaking her head no. “He loved his kids too much. No, he’s dead, that I know for sure.”
Yeah, I did too. We didn’t really say much more as we finished the six pack together. It was getting a bit later in the afternoon, so I got up to give the family some time. “Merry Christmas, Danielle. I’m sorry things have unfolded the way they did.”
“After the New Year, me and the kids are moving back east. It was Erin who wanted to live out here, not me.”
I bowed my head a bit. “Good luck. I hope everything works out.”
**Phil Jenkins**
I was sitting with Owen Walker at the bar, the only two people in the place on Christmas. “I know that charger was defective. I purposefully miss-wired it so it wouldn’t work.”
Walker tipped his whiskey at me. “Don’t worry about it, Phil. It would’ve been nice to keep that technology with us, but I have another plan in place.”
I finished my beer and another one immediately showed up. I started downing that one, too. “Is the group still in place? The plutonium core incident doesn’t change anything?”
“Phil,” he said as he placed his hand on my shoulder. “You’re such a worrier. Yes, as soon as we recruit a fourth member, our little group will be immobilized. There is a power vacuum in this city that we can very much take advantage of.”
I wondered how long it would take to get that fourth member. Either way, “Well, I’m out, Owen. Thanks for the Christmas beer.”
Another man walked through the bar door even before I put my money down to pay for my tab. It was Jeff Trelewicz. “Walker, Jenkins – I think I found the perfect guy to take up the Diamonds mask.”
The Cast –
Jericho Staley – The Negative Man
John Wonderton – The Dark Lion
Erin Cieslik – IT; Wonder-Tech
Dave Whisant – General; United States Army
Channel Esposito – Captain; Army Rangers
Joshua Pabon – Captain; Army Rangers
Valiant – Masters of Magic
Hilda – Masters of Magic
Danielle Cieslik – Erin’s Wife
Heather Adams – Lawyer; Wonder-Tech
Owen Walker – CEO of gl-O-bal
Phil Jenkins – R and D; Wonder-Tech
PJ Douglas – Massacre
Jeff Trelewicz – Security; gl-O-bal
Present Day…
Ifelt like shit. I opened my eyes and the light burned them. And the headache, oh my God it was killing me. A voice startled me. “It seems you’re finally awake, Mr. Cieslik.”
Awake, if you want to call it that. “Where – am – I?” My voice was hoarse, cracking with each word.
Two men entered my line of sight as my eyes adjusted to everything. “Mr. Cieslik, I’m the Secretary of Defense, Ronald Victory. You might remember the man to my left, General Dave Whisant. You worked for him previously.”
It was like a bad dream coming back to haunt me. “You’re the guy the hired me to steal the power charger.” My throat felt a bit better this time.
He stepped forward. In a friendly tone, “That I am. I’m sorry that things didn’t work out in that situation.”
“What do you –” Then a memory flooded back to me. My friend Jericho found out I betrayed the company. No wait, Jericho was The Negative Man! He killed me! Or at least I think he did…
Seeing me thinking over all of this, “You were dead, for about twenty-six minutes. But we saved you. You’re currently being held in a top secret facility underneath Dungeon Bay, outside of Pacific Station.”
What this Victory guy said made no sense. “How did you bring me back to life?”
“We needed a test subject,” Victory went on. “When General Whisant discovered your body in the water, we couldn’t believe what we found. Proof that The Negative Man was still in play here.”
My headache was starting to come back. “What did you do to me? Why do I feel so different?”
“In a minute.” Victory walked over and freed the restraints holding my arms. “It took the better part of five years, but we’ve perfected the serum just in time. Congratulations Mr. Cieslik. You’ve been promoted to my security detail.”
I stumbled forward, my body feeling like it didn’t belong to me. Through gritted teeth, “Tell me what you’ve done!”
Whisant answered for him. “Like Secretary Victory said, it took five years, but you’re the perfect specimen. We think because you have some residual power from The Negative Man flowing in your veins, the serum worked better. You my friend, well you’re Omega, the most powerful sentinel alive!”
“It is an honor, Erin. The ones we’ve released to various police departments are nothing compared to the power that is fully harnessed inside of you,” Whisant added.
“And with The Negative Man off the playing field, trapped in some coma over at Black Lagoon, it’s time we finish what we once started here in Pacific Station. And you my sentinel friend, you’ll lead the charge,” Victory said as he was laughing like a maniac.
I didn’t know what a sentinel was, but a cold, almost robotic presence was welling up inside me. It was starting to take over and there wasn’t a damn thing I could do to stop it. “Nooooo!”
Stormfall
Chapter 1 –
Monday Night; St. James Cathedral
“Forgive me father, for I have sinned.”
I was sitting in the confessional, the smell of the wood filling my senses. A year ago, this would’ve been the last place on Earth you would’ve found me, but times change. People change. Pacific Station was on the verge of a rebirth – so why was I in a confessional? That’s a good question.
I looked over at the slot; still unopened. I knew F
ather Reigart was on the other side, making me wait patiently. He was the reason I was here. He came to the city just after the death of The Dark Lion and took over this old parish. Originally I was investigating rumors that he might be a super. Apparently in his last city, he picked up a car to save a little boy and that got people talking.
Upon further investigation, he was just an ordinary human; a very large and powerful one. Easily six foot four and probably close to two hundred and eighty pounds, Father Reigart was a moving mountain. Some claimed he may have been a descendant of the old Norse berserkers but he was also a gentle soul. So no, he was no super, just a person who over time I came to trust.
The sound of wood scraping against wood told me he was ready to talk. “Jericho my son, what brings you here tonight?”
I cut through the small talk and right to the heart of the matter. “Did you hear about Robert Mozenberg?”
“The land developer who just died in a home fire?” There was no shock in his voice. “I figured ‘he’ might’ve had something to do with it.”
Oh yeah, he knows I’m The Negative Man. He’s very intuitive, which works both for and against him. When he put two and two together, I was tempted to kill him to keep him silent. However, there was something about the guy that just struck me as an ally. So here we are today. “The man was a pervert. He kidnapped under aged girls and did horrible things.”
There was a pause, followed by a sigh. “I know you think by using him, you think you’re doing good for this city.” I felt an admonishment coming. “Jericho, you could do so much good without resorting to violence and murder.”
For the first time this session I made eye contact with the man on the other side. His gentle brown eyes and full beard were visible. “John thought the same way you did, at first. He thought we could restore Pacific Station by staying on the right side of the line.” I didn’t like talking about my old enemy, friend, and mentor much. “Then it became too much for him. He fell too, as you know.”
“Maybe he wasn’t the one who was destined to be the hero? Have you ever thought that if you let The Negative Man fade into obscurity and re-invented yourself that you might become the hero of the tale?”
Chuckling, “It’s too late for that, but thanks for thinking the best of me.”
I leaned back against the wall, knowing our session was almost to an end. “How’s Heather doing? Have her tendencies started to fade?”
Over the past year, one of the biggest changes had been to Heather. She still was the sweet caring girl I fell for hard as John Wonderton’s sidekick, but a dark side was rearing its ugly head. “She’s doing okay. I think her sporadic visits with you have helped.”
“I worry for her, because unlike you, she was not born with this gift. It came as a shock to her system and the fallouts could be very severe.” At first I didn’t believe his warnings, but over time I saw it firsthand. “I hope we can keep her on the right track before something terrible happens.”
“You and I both, Father.” With that, I left the confessional and the church.
****
I walked out of the church and on to the dimly lit street. I had no fear, for this was my city. Crime was at an all-time low in Pacific Station and not because of our police department. The Negative Man punished those who stepped out of line and the fear amongst the criminal underworld was thick.
My main problem these days was that lunatic Chief Grimes and the ‘crack’ squad he enlisted to eliminate my alter-ego. The SVIS, how their antics both amused me and made me sick to my stomach. Those stupid masked vigilantes, all they did was cause mayhem and panic where ever they went. The city would be better off without them, that’s for sure.
I just haven’t been able to bring myself to do that yet. As unlike me as it sounds, I’m just not motivated to wipe them out. None of them can challenge me the way he did. They aren’t worth my time or my effort. So for now, they are like lizards in the garden – an annoyance.
I loved walking at night, with the cool breeze coming off the ocean. The peaceful quiet of my city was a stark contrast to my hectic days. Wonder-Tech was still riding high and with my recent acquisition of gl-O-bal, I would soon become the industry leader in all things tech related. And with that distinction, the final part of my grand plan for making this country great again could come to fruition.
“Hey Mister, that’s a nice watch. I think I should take it from you before it attracts trouble.”
Was I seriously being mugged? The guy interested in my watch stepped out of the side alley and faced me. He looked like a goof. “It is a nice watch, but I think I can take care of it myself.”
His face twitched a bit at my reply. No taller than me with perfectly combed hair, I wondered what threat he could pose me. “That’s a damn shame, because trouble’s a lot closer than you think.”
I looked around, pretending to care what he said. “The only person I see is you and I doubt you would pose much of a problem to me.”
He reached behind him and grabbed on to something, maybe? His hand was holding empty air as far as I could tell. As he lifted it up, something came into view, a sledgehammer. “My friends call me Hammerspace because I have this awesome trick where I can pull my friend here outta nowhere.”
Fascinating – what an incredible gift! “I see, like in a video game where the hero’s always pull their weapon from nowhere.”
“You’re up on games, I like it.” He took a step closer. “Unfortunately for you, I like that watch a bit more. Hand it over and we won’t have any issues.”
The fool had no idea who he was mugging. Not that it mattered; The Negative Man would be seeing him again soon. Unclipping the watch, “Fine, take it. You earned it.”
He reached over and swiped the watch out of my hand, looking at me a bit confused by what I said. “Yeah, I did earn it, didn’t I?” He slipped the watch into one of his invisible pockets. “Well, nice doing business with ya, but I gotta-”
Four figures dropped in around us – the SVIS. They’d upgraded their suits, they seemed to be wearing tactical police uniforms, the only difference was the animal masks they were wearing. Oh what a joy, to be saved by such heroes! The one in the elephant mask yelled out first. “Freeze Hammerspace, you’re ours this time!”
Before he could even respond, the large oaf codenamed Rhino charged at him. Now in flight or fight mode, Hammerspace did the only logical thing, he grabbed me. “I’d stop what you’re doing right now!” All four of the idiots froze in place. “I know who my target is and I know what he’s worth to this city. So the two of us are going to walk into that alley over there while the four of you wait here patiently, got it?”
Elephant responded for the group. “If you harm a non-super, you know what the punishment is, life at Black Lagoon.”
“You morons stay here and nothing will go wrong.” He pushed me towards his exit. “C’mon Mr. Staley, we’re going to take a walk.”
Hammerspace had one more little surprise for the SVIS. He reached behind him back and pulled out a grenade from his interdimensional pocket. Without a second thought, he lobbed it at the masked freaks, who had to rush to take cover. He pulled me into the side alley as the grenade went off. The sound of the explosion set off car alarms down the street. In the pandemonium that ensued, I knew the SVIS wouldn’t be able to pursue.
“Sorry about the noise. Those damn idiots always make things so much harder than they need to be.”
I gave a quick laugh. “I can’t blame you. They didn’t even assess the situation correctly.”
He let me go when we were far enough away. “Even so, I bet their day’s coming. It’s only a matter of time before The Negative Man puts them down. Honestly, I’m surprised he hasn’t already.”
Under my breath, “Oh, I’ve come close.”
“Did you say something?”
Looking up, “No, just being thankful that no one got hurt tonight.”
He reached into another invisible pocket and pulled something o
ut. “For being a good sport tonight, this is for you.” Whatever it was, he tossed in the air towards me.
I caught it and gave it the once over. “Is this supposed to be a joke?”
“At least you got another watch out of the deal. Not as nice as yours, but you’re a cool guy.” He gave me one last cheesy grin before ducking off.
Knowing the wild herd was anxiously awaiting my safe return; I took a deep breath and returned to the street. I glanced at my new watch one more time. “Well, it’s not that bad.”
Chapter 2 –
Monday Night; Ocean View Drive
“Idon’t get it. Why do you insist on walking home?”
Heather was watching the nightly news; no matter which channel she settled on, they’d be talking about The Negative Man. Tonight was no exception. “It gives me a chance to clear my head. Besides, I enjoy being out there, learning and observing.”
Her attention left the television and came fully to me. “I take it something happened this evening?” She looked me up and then back down. “That’s not your watch.”
I was wearing the ‘gift’ with pride. “A mugger named Hammerspace actually robbed me tonight. I would’ve learned much more about him, but those idiot SVIS supers interrupted us.”
In the world of crime fighters, those clowns were the sideshow. Even against The Aces, the animal weirdos were seriously outgunned. There used to be five of them, but one discovered my secret. Tiger, or Mike Blackfield, was a friend. Yet when he figured it all out, he became a liability and I had to tie that up. Heather seemed to enjoy his demise more than I did.
As for the remaining four, that blubbering blowhard Chief Grimes used them as his special op’s task force. As tonight had proven, they were not at all competent and provided little to the city. “I think the time has come for The Negative Man to put an end to their insufferable ways.”
The Negative Man: Act 1 Page 24
