Paul had his phone out, checking notes he kept on it. “You’ve got hand-to-hand combat training later this afternoon, but I’ve got you free for the rest of the morning.”
“Good, I wanted to take John out driving today. The weather is perfect, and the roads should be clear of icy patches.”
Paul chuckled. “Wylde behind the wheel is a scary thought. Want me to send some backup, just in case? Perhaps have a wrecker follow?”
Kirk Peters, the Xi Force computer expert, had set John up with a driving simulator, complete with steering wheel and foot pedals. His initial attempts had not been pretty. John and the breaks did not seem to get along at first, and he managed to crash more often than not. But he’d stuck to it, and was now getting acceptable scores. It was time for him to get behind the wheel of a real vehicle.
She patted Paul on his shoulder. “We’ll be fine.”
She hadn’t even worked up a sweat and decided to keep her costume on under her street clothes. Maybe it was just the idea. Like being in one of those comics she used to read. At any moment she could rush into a phone booth and change into Quantum.
Then again, she’d have to find a phone booth. One without so much glass, ‘cause that would be embarrassing. Maybe a British phone booth, like the Tartis, with all that extra room inside. That would make changing so much easier.
Once back in her apartment, she kicked off her boots, pulled on jeans and a sweater over the unitard. The collar of her sweater was high enough to hide the high collar and cowl she pulled off her head to hang down in back. The sweater was also bulky enough to hide her utility belt and the boots were stylish enough to wear with the street ensemble.
I have a secret identity. Cool.
Now if only phone booths would make a comeback. The right kind of phone booths.
~ ~ ~
Dove secured the car keys from the attendant in the Xi Force motor pool. John had texted her he was on his way. As she waited, one of the other Xi Force SUVs pulled in and parked. Two of Pike’s Rangers approached, nudging each other in an attempt to be the one opening the rear door.
The driver, Rick Sanders, yet another of Pike’s Rangers, opened his door. “Hey.”
He knocked the other two aside and opened the rear door himself offering his hand to the occupant of the vehicle’s back seat.
Olivia Diego stepped out. “Thanks, Rick.”
No wonder the guys were tussling to catch her notice.
She was a beauty.
A ghost until a few weeks ago, El Brujo’s sister had managed to find her way into the body of a gorgeous middle-eastern woman and come back to life. She’d died as a child, and now that she had her life back, she seemed determined to experience everything she’d missed as an adult, including alcohol and men.
She wavered a bit as she stood and Rick, smiling broadly, offered his arm.
Olivia couldn’t drive herself, as she’d never gotten her driver’s license, but never had a lack of chauffeurs whenever she wanted to go somewhere away from the base. Most of Pike’s Rangers had managed to slip her their phone numbers and work schedules. Rick must have been the one lucky enough to be off duty this time.
The other two rangers stood back and scowled. A band of brothers, they had each other’s backs on the field, but the rules all changed when there was a woman involved. And the ratio of men to women on the Xi Force base was high enough to cause some intense competition.
Wylde’s pheromones reached Dove moments before he slipped his arms around her from behind. “Olivia’s been out and about again?”
She nodded, enjoying the feel of his body against her and the warmth his hug filled her with.
“You know, I can probably dance better than those guys at the club,” Rick said as he escorted Olivia toward the motor pool exit.
Yup, she’d been to a male strip club. Not surprising. As a ghost she used to haunt them on a regular basis. Had Rick gone in with her this time? The boys were getting bolder in their efforts to impress her.
“You think so, hombre. They were very good. Muy sexy.” Her eyes danced with mischief.
Rick cast a glance at his wristwatch. “I’ve got a couple hours yet. I could come up to your place and show you. A little music, maybe some candle light.”
Most of the rangers stayed on base but bunked together in a specially designed barracks. No privacy there. Rick was making his move to get Olivia alone.
How drunk was she?
Dove decided to act. At least give Olivia the opportunity to reconsider the possible consequences of inviting a man up to her room.
She put her hands on Wylde’s arms to pull free, but before she could extract herself, El Brujo stepped out of the shadows by the doorway.
Dove let go, snuggling back into Wylde’s embrace. “This should prove entertaining.”
Wylde chuckled. “Indeed.”
El Brujo’s approach caused Rick to pull up short.
The sorcerer cut an intimidating figure, but his face registered no emotion. “Thank you, Mr. Sanders, I can escort my sister from here.”
“I . . . um.” Rick bowed his head. “Yes, sir.”
“Carlos.” Olivia scowled and crossed her arms.
El Brujo’s gaze traveled to the other two rangers as Rick beat a hasty retreat.
They blanched and backed away.
Olivia stomped her foot. “I am a grown woman now.”
He offered her his arm. “Yes. I’m sure they noticed that. Shall we go up to your room?”
“Argh.” She ignored his arm and stomped through the doorway ahead of him.
Dove chuckled and pulled from Wylde’s embrace to hand him the car keys. “Ready to chauffeur me around?”
He nodded. “Just don’t expect me to drive you to a strip club.”
~ ~ ~
Wylde’s heart beat faster as he slid behind the steering wheel of the Xi Force SUV. This was no simulation, this was real.
“Did you bring them?” The excited expression on Dove’s face warmed Wylde’s heart. He’d almost forgotten she’d asked him to bring his new gloves.
He handed them to her then buckled his seat belt. This was one of the stealth models, with no identification markers tying the vehicle to Xi Force. Still, his face was well enough known now to link him to the team. Perhaps he should have opted for a mask on his costume. He didn’t care that people knew his face, but it would limit what he and Dove could do in public. At least this vehicle had tinted windows.
“The button is on the thumb side of the index finger. And careful, they’re sharp.”
Schling. The claws slid out of the glove tips.
“Oh, these are so cool. I can’t wait to see what kind of new toys the lab girls come up with for me to play with.”
Heather, Kayla, and Mary, along with a host of other scientists, continually worked on new innovations and augmentations for Xi Force members. “Maybe something like Kayla’s phase gun. You could use a weapon.”
“Or a magic lasso that makes men tell me the truth.” There was a mock seriousness in her tone that made Wylde burst out laughing.
“I’ll always tell you the truth. Like right now. I gotta say, you need to buckle up. It’s the law.”
“Oh, right. Sorry. Distracted.” She Buckled. Schling. “So cool.”
Shaking his head, Wylde put the vehicle in reverse. This was the tricky part, using the mirrors to view what was behind him, but he managed the maneuver and made it out of the Xi Force underground parking ramp without incident.
Miles flew by in comfortable conversation and only the occasional Schling from the passenger’s seat. Driving still didn’t feel natural, but he was becoming more comfortable behind the wheel. His biggest problem was keeping his concentration on the road and off the sexy female beside him.
/>
The major accomplishment of Wylde reaching forty miles per hour on that straightaway was diminished only moments later with a slight wrinkle in the front fender, when he scraped the side of a concrete bridge.
He ground his teeth as he surveyed the damage. Yeah, it was just a scrape, but he’d caused it. Damn it, he’d way over-corrected when that car came at him from the other lane.
“It’s not a problem. Xi Force has insurance.”
Easy for Dove to say. She wasn’t the one who had to return the vehicle to the Xi Force motor pool.
He sighed. This wasn’t as simple as it looked when Dove did it. “I’m starting to think adulting isn’t worth it.”
She went up on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “Sex is part of adulting.”
That brought a smile back to his face. “Okay, it’s worth it. Let’s see if I can get us back to base without any more mishaps.”
He climbed back behind the wheel, buckled up, and put the SUV into gear.
They’d stuck to the back roads, and lesser traveled highways. Approaching vehicles still made him tense up. They’d passed by farm fields and forested patches with little or no oncoming traffic. It had only been dumb luck he’d met that car on that narrow bridge.
His reaction had been dumb too. But he needed to put that behind him and figure this out.
Puffy clouds drifted across the azure sky overhead. It was a beautiful day for a drive and Dove made for the best of travel companions. She didn’t press him but offered good advice and support.
He rolled down the window a bit, and pulled in the fresh country air, centered himself, and kept his eyes on the road. If he looked Dove’s way, he was sure to be distracted and probably crash again.
Their journey took them down the road toward the crime scene where Officer Halverson’s body had been discovered and Port had escaped. As they approached, Wylde noted three men working in the taped off area. One of them was Detective Dickson.
He pulled the vehicle to the side of the road and stopped. “I need to talk to someone. Stay in the car.”
“Can’t I come with you?” Her brow furled. A look that struck straight at his heart. Defiant, determined, he loved that about her. But did she know what she was asking?
“One of these men knows me as Wylde, the superhero. If they see you with me they might jump to a conclusion I don’t think you’re ready for, Quantum.”
Dove put her hand to her face. “Oh, right. I don’t want to give up my secret identity.”
Secret identity? He chuckled. She was so comic book.
He opened his door. “This shouldn’t take long. I just want to check up on a friend.”
He still didn’t have many friends, but it seemed he acquired more each day, and counted Detective Dickson as one of them. This whole friends concept was growing on him.
A lone wolf no longer.
The body was gone, but the overturned vehicle remained. Detective Dickson was examining the driver’s side door, which hung open, window smashed. He looked up and smiled as Wylde approached. “Mr. Wylde.”
The other two men closed to stand behind the detective. Wylde noted each man had a handgun holstered at his side under their jacket. “It looks like you got your job back.”
Dickson’s eyes darkened. Frowning, he shook his head. “I’m not sure I want it, but that doesn’t mean I stop being a policeman. No one is officially even looking into Mac’s murder anymore, so a couple of the guys and I thought we’d see what we could uncover. It’s not like we don’t have a little extra time on our hands right now.”
Despite their lack of uniforms or badges, Wylde would have picked these guys out as cops from a hundred yards away. Like Dickson, the other two had an air of honor in their essences. Nothing like the uniformed thugs who’d been here with the police commissioner a few days earlier.
Wylde nodded to them. “As long as we’re not doing anything official here, maybe I can help.”
He knelt and stuck his head inside the vehicle, drawing in a deep breath through his nose, testing the scents as they filtered past his olfactory. Even after three days, the essences lingered. Port had been in the back seat. The commissioner had driven. And there was another essence he recognized.
He pulled his head outside and following his nose, scanned down the side of the car. Metal was crumpled below the back door in the shape of a hand print that reeked of Leonov Stravinsky.
“This vehicle didn’t crash. It was rolled over by someone very strong.” Had the Red Guard agent retained a portion of the Destructor’s power like Dove had from the Creator? And what was Leonov doing here in the states?
Duh, springing Port, of course, and it appeared the police commissioner was somehow connected with the Red Guard as well.
Dumph.
Wylde’s sensitive hearing picked up the sound from the forested area to the west. He doubted the men around him had heard anything. “All of you. Get around to the other side of the vehicle. Now.”
It was the only source of cover in the open field around them.
Port stepped out of the underbrush, gun in hand ready to fire. Was this a case of the criminal returning to the scene of the crime, or was there something even more sinister at play here?
Then Leonov Stravinsky came barreling out of the trees, his form glowing and growing, morphing into the lumpy, ugly, monstrosity he’d been back at the Red Guard complex.
How strong was he?
It didn’t matter. This was the guy that had kidnapped Dove.
Fisting his hands, Wylde charged toward the behemoth. It was time for a little payback.
Chapter 23
Dove recognized Leonov Stravinsky the moment he burst from the forest. And the spark of the Creator inside her recognized the form of the Destructor morphing from his body at the same instant. So the bastard had survived the destruction of the Red Guard compound and obviously retained some of his powers as well.
Fine.
She pushed open the door and flew out of the vehicle. Secret identity be damned, she owed this guy. Big time.
Wait, she had her costume under her clothing. She had her mask. Throwing off the sweater, she pulled the cowl over her head. No time to take off the jeans, but that didn’t matter. Vengeance burned like a wildfire in her gut.
John was already charging the Destructor, probably thinking he had a bone to pick with Leonov as well. Oh no. He’s mine.
But gunshots drew her attention to the other man, Port. She’d never encountered him in person, but knew him by reputation. A teleporting assassin and Red Guard operative.
Three men were scrambling behind the overturned police vehicle in the clearing and drawing handguns from holsters. One of them jerked and dropped to the ground.
Shit, he’d been hit. She hadn’t been close enough to even try and stop the bullets spraying from Port’s gun. She’d deal with Leonov later. She needed to protect these men.
With the cowl on, she had her communications in place. She hit the switch on her utility belt to activate the electronics. “Quantum to Xi Force headquarters. Port and the Destructor spotted at my location.”
The costume had built in GPS. Kirk would know where she was. But she was in the city limits. Could Xi Force even act? What she was doing now was technically not allowed, not that she would let that stop her.
“Roger, Quantum. Alerting Xi Force.” Kirk’s voice crackled in her earpiece.
At least they knew.
As she flew toward Port, she pulled up dirt and debris from the ground, mounding it up in a barrier in front of him.
He stopped shooting and looked up at her. “Who the hell?”
His gun came up and he fired at her.
Shit. Real bullets. Not the way she wanted to test her new suit.
She solidified the air
particles in the paths of the projectiles. It didn’t stop them, but it did deflect them toward the ground. With immense concentration she guided each missile away from her. So fast, so much velocity. Her head spun.
One bullet tore past her defenses, hitting her in the right thigh.
“Shit.” It stung like hell, and blasted a hole in her jeans, but didn’t penetrate the material of her costume.
Still, she needed a new tactic.
~ ~ ~
Wylde bounded toward the behemoth. Leonov’s transformation completed into a creature over ten feet high and as wide as a Mac truck. Could he even hurt this guy?
I sure wish I had those gloves I left with Dove in the car.
He also wished he could fly, had super strength, and maybe laser beams.
Not having any of those, he launched himself toward the brute’s chin, pulling back to punch with everything he had. One shot, a knockout, would be wonderful. “Who am I fooling?”
His punch barely registered. “You’re going to have to do better than that, Johnny.”
Loenov’s bulky open hand, hit him in the chest and slammed him to the ground.
“Ouch?” Bones cracked in his rib cage.
Then the giant hand wrapped around him and pulled him up.
~ ~ ~
Dove dropped to the ground behind her dirt barrier, less than five yards from Port. She pushed the dirt and debris toward the man, wrapping it around him as he continued to fire his weapon. But the packed earth was dense enough that none of the bullets came through. So far so good.
She continued to pile up the soil around him, trapping Port under the mound. She did leave him enough space inside to breathe.
Kayla’s warning about Port came to her then. If he can’t see out, he can’t get out.
Wylde Page 17
