Fire Hazard: Cape High Book Eight (Cape High Series 8)

by R. J. Ross

  FIRE HAZARD

  by

  R. J. Ross

  Fire Hazard

  Amazon Edition

  Copyright © 2014 by R. J. Ross

  All Rights Reserved

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Amazon and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  ~Other works by R.J. Ross~

  http://www.facebook.com/capehigh

  Belle and the Dragon's Curse * Sundance's Syn * Missing: Witch * Destiny Thread

  The Winstead Files Series

  Courting the Beast * Snow White, Snow White * The Sleeper * Stiltskin

  Arcadia Gamers Series

  Croc Skins * Coyote Falls

  Seasons of the Fae Series

  Raven's Return * Death of a Dryad

  Cape High Series

  Super Villain Dad * America's Grandson * Hello Kitty * Don't Know Jack

  Daddy's Girl * Aces Wild * Steampunk Time * Fire Hazard

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER ONE

  Nico stares blankly at the two men standing in his science room. It's not every day that you get two of the Hall Leaders over to visit. Ain't he lucky, he thinks dryly, reaching forward and picking up his glass of water to take a drink. He hasn't offered them a drink, or even a chair. He's not that considerate.

  "Tell me," he says to Mastermental, "is there a reason this conversation has to take place here?"

  "It's nice to meet you, as well," Century drawls, dropping down on one of the long science tables since no chair is being offered. He's a large southern boy, at first sight, The Texan Hero. He's been called "The Longhorn Hero" and several other southern clichés, and he makes sure his appearance fits them to a T. "I've got a little problem, Technico, and Mastermental kindly offered your assistance."

  "I have to say I thought I had plenty of my own problems to deal with lately," Nico says, looking at Double M. Double M steps forward, tossing a folder onto his desk.

  "That's probably the information on Jimmi--" Century starts out as Nico picks it up and opens it. For a moment he stares at the picture on the front page.

  "Seriously?" he asks Double M after a moment.

  "You did agree to the mentorship idea. You mentioned that you were looking for a fire type hero, remember?" Double M says. "That the South Branch has Flameblaster made me more open to what he wants to hear. I can only assume you feel the same?"

  "Flame?" Century asks blankly. "I'm not sure what Flame's got to do with this."

  Nico ignores him, looking over the class and power levels. He waves his hand, bringing up a hologram of the wiry pyrokinetic. It turns when he waves a finger and Nico allows himself a little smile. "I have a kid," he says to Century, looking at the large man. "His name is Vinny. He's got the ability to become an A class fire mimic."

  Century catches on quickly, which shows as he relaxes and smiles slightly. "I see. You're thinking of mentoring him to my Flame. That could work out for both of us, honestly. Turn the page. You did put Jimena's information in there, didn't you?" he asks Double M.

  "I did. But when dealing with any of the Superiors you need to put the carrot first," Double Me says simply.

  “Well really, what I should say is that we might have a deal--IF your boy can handle the problem we’ve got. I did want one of your students for this, but I was hoping for someone with a bit of… toughness. This Vinny of yours, what’s he like?” Century asks.

  Nico stares at him for a moment, thinking about the teen in question. “He’s the second in command of the zoo kids, as we call them,” he says, waving the hologram of Flameblaster off. “He’s one of the few kids that came out of a year of being kidnapped and stuck in a glass cell with his complete sanity, stability, and surprisingly, a talent for cooking. Honestly I’ve got no idea where the cooking thing came from, but it’s useful.”

  “He’s a cook?” Century repeats. “I’m afraid I’m not seeing what he’s like with just that simple description. Think you could expound on that?”

  “If the whole world was falling apart around him, Vinny would be the one making sure everyone got fed before he got them out,” Nico says bluntly. “He’s sharp as a razorblade, too. He promises to be one of our best heroes, or he would be if he actually applied himself to more than just watching the cooking channel.” He starts reading the information on the next page, a slight frown crossing his face as he gets further in.

  “You see what we’re dealing with, then?” Century asks as he closes the envelope. “The girl has just gone off the leash. She’s not a bad girl by any means, but she’s involved with the wrong crowd. They’re all talking about how they’re the new capes, running around vandalizing places! And honestly, as much as I want to shut them down, the idea of doing that to Alonso’s little Princesa on national television, well, I can’t do it. Alonso's saved this world’s bacon so many times I’ve lost count.”

  He’s laying that good ole boy line on thick, Nico thinks, earning a slight shrug from Mastermental.

  ‘We do what we must,’ Double M says silently, ‘but he’s right about Voltdrain. The man has saved this world several times already.’

  Nico nods. “I’m interested in Flame. I’ll have to do a bit more research on him, though.”

  “Are you going to save little Jimmi?” Century demands.

  “We’ll see,” Nico says. “Tell me, before I commit, though, how does Alonso feel about having his little ‘Princesa’ sent away to school?”

  ***

  “So what do you think it is?” I hear Sunny ask. We’re supposed to be going to science class right now, but the teachers had pulled us back, saying Nico was busy with a special meeting. I saw the two guys that went in earlier. One was Mastermental, the head of Central Hall, the other was this massive monster of a guy wearing a hat big enough to shade half of Kansas City.

  Oh, right, I should introduce myself, huh? Name’s Vinny Accardi. Yeah, it’s Italian. I’m Italian on my father’s side, but I grew up in America and have no ties with the mafia whatsoever. I’m not related to Rocky, either, got it? Now that we’ve got that cleared up, I’ll tell you one other thing. I’m a super. I’ve got fire abilities and go to a school for supers. But I’m STILL not mafia. Just in case you were wondering, got it? Well, maybe a few generations back there was a cousin--but that’s just a story my dad told me when I was a kid. Dad liked to tell ridiculous stories. That’s what he called them when I called him out. The rest of the world would just call it lying.

  “That’s Century up there with Dad and Nico,” Max says casually. We’re all sitting on the strange little playground that Nico and Taurus built for Sunny’s girlfriend, Adanna. She’s a shape-shifter, one that turns into a black panther. That’s why there are three of these adult-sized tree houses linked together by ramps with hammocks hanging off the side. I claimed one of the hammocks already.
I’m tempted to take a nap.

  "Who's Century?" Carla asks. I glance up at the black girl sitting on the walkway above my hammock, a bit surprised.

  "He's one of the Hall leaders, right?" I offer. Something about this is making my brain itch, I just can’t remember why...

  "Yeah, South Branch," Max says. "He plays up the Texas accent when he wants people to think he’s just a ‘good ole boy’--but I'm pretty sure he's an Ivy League graduate. Not sure which of them, but definitely Ivy League. That means he wants something from the school."

  "Maybe he's just bringing in new kids," Morgan says. Morgan’s the head of the zoo kids, like me and Carla. She’s sitting above me, as well, right next to Carla.

  There's a slight breeze rocking my hammock. I yawn, wondering if anyone will notice if I go to sleep. As interesting as this is (or isn't) this is really a nice place for a nap. "Think they'll move into the dorm?"

  AND I'm up. "No more dorm kids," I say, sitting up abruptly. "Please, for the love of God, no more dorm kids."

  "Oh come on, Vinny, it'll be good to have new blood!" Morgan says, laughing at me.

  "Blood is exactly what I'm worried about," I tell her before falling onto my back again and staring up at the sky. "I doubt it's that, though. More likely they'll want to build another school or something, right? It's bad enough that all of us are away from our families, no point in taking the legitimate cape kids away from theirs." I yawn and relax again, intent on getting that nap.

  "They can try," Max says. The son of Mastermental is way too much of a know-it-all for my tastes. He always seems to be two steps ahead of everybody. It's annoying, especially when he's smug about it. "Dad had the blueprints for this place back when I was a little kid--he never built it until Nico was getting out of the Cape Cells. That means Nico is the driving force behind the school system."

  "He can oversee it from here, though. You know, act as an adviser," Zoe, Nico's daughter and Max's girlfriend says. "So Vinny might be right."

  "Hah," I say, simply because I can.

  "Why aren't you going super villain, Vinny?" Max asks abruptly. Wow, that was out of left field. I turn slightly, looking at the black haired teen sitting at the next tree house. "You'd make a good one."

  "He is NOT going super villain," Morgan, ever the mother of the zoo kids, says. "And why are you still trying to recruit people? You've got two of our toughest students on your side. We need more heroes."

  "Ace is too busy drawing pretty pictures to be a threat," Jack says. We all turn to watch the Goth boy in question doodling on an art pad. "Besides, Vinny would make the super villain camping trips awesome. Just think of the barbecues we could pull off!"

  "You're planning on cooking hotdogs over my head, aren't you?" I drawl, easily picturing it.

  "Absolutely."

  "I'm not going super villain," I say. "I'm perfectly fine being one of those second-rate heroes that only get cameos on TV. They'll dress me up in red and orange and send me in to fight fires with the local firemen. As long as I get paid and cable TV, I'm good."

  "Wow, what aspirations," Max says sarcastically. "Are you going to ask for the movie channels, too?"

  "Think they'd toss them in?" I ask eagerly. The entire group bursts out with laughter at that. "Hey, free cable is free cable," I defend myself. "A place of my own, cable, a good kitchen, man, that's all a guy can ask for in life." I start my hammock swaying again, listening to them joke about my "lofty goals."

  "Supers in the Hall get paid enough for more than that, you know," Max says. "At least aim to be a well-known hero, if you're going to be one. It'll look bad if a Cape High student turns out to be sidekick level."

  "Especially when he's got promise," Morgan says, staring pointedly at me.

  "I might start up my own restaurant, how's that sound?" I ask. "Vinny's Bar and Grill. It'll be a nice little place--”, I start laughing as random objects are thrown at me. I'm half buried in paper balls and shoes when they go still. I sit up and look at what they're watching, blinking at the sight of Nico and Century walking straight for us.

  "Is there a problem?" Max asks, always the first one to speak for the group. Personally I think Morgan should, but it's not worth the argument. Morgan tends to shy away from heroes, anyway. I guess I can't blame her, considering her dad. He's a super villain.

  "Vinny," Nico says as I start shoving stuff out of my hammock. I go still, holding a girl's sneaker.

  "Yeah?" I ask.

  "Come with us."

  Well, I think a bit regretfully, there goes my plans for being a second-class cape. I climb out of the hammock and toss Emily her shoe back, shoving my hands into my pockets as they lead me away from the group. "You sure you got the right guy?" I ask curiously.

  "Do you really think that when there are only twenty-one of you I'd get the wrong one?" Nico asks dryly.

  "A guy can hope, right?"

  Century is looking at me with a scowl on his face, and I can tell what he's thinking already. I don't live up to his expectations--whatever those expectations might be. I might be a super, but I guess I'm not very impressive. I'm sort of used to this fact, honestly. There's something about me that has most people shaking their heads over the fact that I've got powers. At least I've seen Taurus do it several times in gym class.

  "Really, A class?" Century asks Nico.

  "A class," Nico agrees.

  "What about that blonde boy that was sitting with the redhead girl?" Century asks. "He looks more like--"

  "That's Kid Liberty," I interrupt, feeling a bit offended by this point. "They might hand me over for whatever it is you're planning, but they won't hand over Kid Liberty. You should get used to that fact now."

  "I'm not exactly handing you over," Nico says.

  "Then what is this about?" I ask him. "And can you make it quick? Someone's probably stolen my hammock by now." We head inside as I wait for an answer, reaching the science room where Mastermental is playing with one of the explosives that Nico has us mess with. Somehow that worries me almost as much as what's about to happen.

  "You're going to do your first mission, kiddo," Nico tells me, taking the explosive away from Mastermental and dropping down on his desk. "Meanwhile you're going to be mentored under Flameblaster--he's the pyrokinetic of the South Branch."

  "Mission?" I repeat blankly.

  "There's a gang of kids claiming to be supers down in the south," Nico says. "We want you to infiltrate it."

  "Infiltrate?" Century asks.

  "Infiltrate," Nico says. "Get this girl out of the group before we bring in a few of the others to bring down the gang entirely. Understand?" he asks, holding out a picture of a girl to me. I stare at the girl for a moment. She's cute, a Hispanic girl with a thing for glow-sticks that match her eyes. Those glowing orange eyes clearly say she's not a norm.

  "She's not claiming to be one, though," I point out in case they're morons, "she’s obviously a super."

  "We know. She's the daughter of Voltdrain. I'm not sure what's going on down there, honestly. Maybe they really are capes, but Century doesn't seem to think they are. If they are, they're untrained. Either way, they're causing trouble. You're the first step in stopping it."

  I look at him, raising one eyebrow at this strange pronouncement of faith. "Really," I drawl. "Where do you get the idea I can join a group of capes just like that?"

  "Because you're second in command of a real group of capes already," he says. "Compared to the zoo kids this should be a walk in the park."

  I frown, still not comfortable with the fact that everyone considers me the second in command. Even Morgan has said something along those lines. Honestly, I don't see it.

  “This is what Morgan’s out to do, though,” I point out after a moment. “Don’t you think she’d be a better choice to send in?”

  “Not when she needs to steal powers to protect herself,” Nico says. “The only one she’d have something to steal from is our target. You come with defense built in, Vinny. Plus--“ He
hesitates, looking at Matermental and Century. “Can I get a bit of privacy with the boy?” he asks.

  The two nod and head out the door, leaving Nico and me alone. “I know about your father,” he says.

  I go still, and then shrug. “He’s a norm,” I tell him. “Far as we can tell I inherited this flame-on thing from my ma. She died just after I was born. You can’t pull a ‘your dad is in the cape cells’ on me--“

  “But he is in prison--the norm prison.”

  “So?” I say. “He got caught stealing a car. It’s not like I even would have noticed,” I admitted. “I was in my own prison at the time. Look, whatever leverage you think you got, you’re wasting your time. Nobody’s even going to blink if you tell them I’m the kid of a prison inmate.”

  “True,” he agrees, “but I can get him out, get him a job. I’ve heard from Ken that he’s found God. He’s cleaned up his act, become a model citizen.”

  I stare at him, blankly. “My dad’s a bible thumper now?” I ask, letting out a laugh. “Man, it’s got to be another story.” I don’t believe it. Don’t get me wrong--it’s not that I don’t believe there’s honest prison converts out there, I mean, I have to talk with Ken once a week. He seriously believes in the stuff Christians say. Because of him, I can actually see someone suddenly believing in God. It’s my dad I don’t believe. Like I said earlier, Dad’s ALWAYS telling me lies. It got to where I couldn’t believe a word that came out of his mouth before I got caught by Collector.

  “Ken can find out,” he says. “Honestly, regardless of his personal beliefs, as long as he's cleaned up his act and you help me out, the offer's on the table. I can get him a job working for the Hall, he’d do well there. He’d be out of prison and where you could see him regularly.”

  “All in exchange for me doing this mission?” I ask. “So you’re bribing me?”

  “Not just for the mission,” he says. “Don’t lie, kid, I know exactly how much you’re applying yourself to your classes--you’re not. You want to slide by in life. Now usually I would let you. I only put as much effort into your training as you’re willing to, but in your case,” he looks at me for a long moment, “seems a shame.”