Super: Underground: Book 2 in the Super: Series

by Palladian

  Lex smiled and hummed as she looked back out the window, now looking forward to getting home.

  Once they arrived, they spent the morning of the first day making CDs, and then in the afternoon they got started making the video. Lex helped Casey drape one of the painting drop cloths over some of the windows in the front room for a backdrop and cover all of the recognizable red hills in the distance. They did a couple of test runs as Casey got the hang of working the camera and to practice their new song, “Heart’s Abode.” Finally, when everyone felt ready, they began the performance they would post.

  I don’t see it in my dreams

  It’s not a time I can recall

  Towering waves crash inside me

  Neglectful of the shore

  I search for a placeless time

  Wanting nothing more

  Than to see you look back at me

  Knowing all my inner thoughts

  Home is not expensive

  Not a castle by the sea

  It’s just a place to never let you down

  Lex closed her eyes as she sang, letting the visions run through her mind that she had had when she’d written the words in the first place. She started the call earlier in the song than she usually did, asking the people who saw the video to recommend their friends see it, and then that Kate and Victor come to one of their shows. As she sent out the last message, she kept as strong a picture of both of them in her mind as she could, remembering Kate’s appearance, her kindness, her sense of humor, and their interactions. She thought of Victor’s quiet strength, his genius, and his quick appraisal of situations in order to come up with amazing solutions. Lex found herself still remembering the two of them as she finished singing.

  Once the last notes died away, Lex and her friends crowded around Riss’ laptop to review the video, decided they liked it, and then posted it.

  “What do you think will happen?” Casey asked, looking up at Lex as they watched their new video on the web.

  Lex shrugged. “Not sure, really. Let’s start by sending this link along to all the people we have email addresses for and ask them to watch it and share it. Hopefully, it’ll spread from there.”

  “Sounds good,” Riss replied, putting together an email as the rest of them watched. “Guess we’ll see what happens.”

  Chapter 27: Reunion

  Although nothing much happened at first, Lex found herself looking at their video often, scanning any comments to see if maybe she could tell if her friend had stopped by. After a few days of this, and a few looks by Riss as she passed by, shaking her head, Lex decided that she would have to be more patient.

  The four of them sat down to plan their next steps a few days after they returned. Most felt that touring had left them more worn out than they’d anticipated, so the group agreed that they wouldn’t schedule a second tour for another couple of months at least.

  “Good,” Casey said, nodding with satisfaction. “That’ll actually give me enough time to look into venues within easy driving distance to see what’s available. I think this will work out really well.”

  “Yeah,” Lou said, nodding back at her. “It’ll also give us time to work on the new songs we’ve been writing. Maybe by the time we start touring again we’ll have a new CD to promote.”

  Riss just raised her eyebrow and Lex smiled back at her. “Remember when we started? You never thought we’d have enough material to even play a show.”

  “Well, that was a while ago,” Riss replied, giving the ghost of a smile. “I think you two may have turned me into a musician while I wasn’t looking.”

  Lex turned to Lou and the two of them shook hands while laughing. The group broke up then, Casey picking up her laptop to do research on venues while the other three drifted over to their instruments.

  “Hey,” Casey said, raising her voice to be heard over the initial din that occurred while setting and tuning up. “I hope you don’t mind me booking some things nearby over the next few months.”

  “I think that’s a good idea,” Lex replied. “That’ll give Victor and Kate the opportunity to find us.”

  Riss groaned. “Just not too many,” she said, a warning tone in her voice. “And I think they should be close enough so that we can get there, play the show, and get back within a day.”

  “Agreed,” Lou said, nodding as he bent to continue tuning his bass. “We’re not going to be able to rest up enough for a longer tour if we spend all our time in between playing shows, and there’s no way we’d be able to get a new CD ready.”

  “OK, OK,” Casey grumbled, turning back to the computer.

  Over the next few weeks, they took advantage of the extra time they had. Lex noticed Riss spending more time with her computers than she’d been able to while the group was on the road, and she and Lex resumed their training.

  During her time online, Riss had noticed a concerning trend, however: the continued westward movement of the MSI team trying to find them. When she’d shared it with the group, everyone agreed that the only thing that could seem to be done at the moment was to continue watching. “Hopefully they’ll get tired of not finding us and give up after a while,” Lex had said. “I guess it’s good that we came out to the West Coast.”

  Lou and Casey slept in more than they had on tour and worked to complete the finishing touches on the gym, the two of which Lex paired in her mind due to the effort they’d had to put into building it. They’d been compressing the abandoned cars in their lot for use as weights and had engineered a system of pulleys and pins so that they could reconfigure the system on the fly, sort of like a giant version of an all-in-one workout machine, Lex thought. The band members had also been working on writing and recording new songs and practicing, and in the evenings Casey discussed their next tour date possibilities.

  Casey had booked a few local shows for the band, but after the first couple they’d played with no sign of Kate or Victor, Lex had given up hope that her idea would work. The shows had been well attended and received, however, and they continued to sell CDs to the point where the four of them began talking about having a run of them made so that they wouldn’t have to spend so much time making them by hand.

  They talked about it as they arrived for a show in Tucson one Saturday night, but they hadn’t come to an agreement. Lex and Casey argued against it because it would bring up the cost of making the CDs, but Riss and Lou just seemed tired of making them. Still discussing it back and forth as they lugged their equipment to the backstage area, the band waited since they would open the show but it wasn’t supposed to start for another hour. Riss, Lex, and Lou alternately stayed with the equipment and took breaks to get a drink or walk around the back while Casey went up front to set up the merchandise table.

  After a half-hour, Casey came backstage, which was unusual since she didn’t like to leave the CDs once she’d set up; however, Lex thought that her friend looked excited about something.

  “I think they’re here,” Casey said with a big smile, her eyes meeting all of theirs as she looked around the group. “Lex, go around with me to the other side of the stage and tell me if you think it’s them.”

  The two women moved around and managed to find an alcove where they could stand and remain mostly unseen. Lex scanned the crowd, frowning since she didn’t see her friends, but when Casey pointed out one couple leaning on either side of a square support beam, Lex could feel her heart rate pick up.

  “You’re right, I think that’s them,” she whispered to Casey.

  Lex looked back at them, marking their appearances. She thought one of the reasons she hadn’t spotted them at first probably had to do with the haircut Kate sported now, much like the shoulder-length cut Lex used to have. It didn’t work as well with Kate’s curlier hair, Lex thought, but she felt sure that the exhausted expression on Kate’s face was the real reason her friend looked different. Both she and Victor appeared ragged; their clothing seemed old and repaired in several spots, their shoes scuffed and worn out. K
ate also wore glasses with tinted lenses, probably to draw less attention to her than the eyepatch she normally wore.

  “Casey, can you keep an eye on them during the show? We’re going to have to start setting up soon, so I’m not going to be able to go out now. It might make the most sense for me to try to talk to them after the show, since Kate and I are better friends. Unless you’d like to approach them now?” Lex looked up at Casey, her eyebrows raised.

  Casey shook her head, bending to whisper in Lex’s ear. “No, but I will talk to them if they try to leave while you’re onstage. Don’t worry about it; they’ll probably stay.”

  Lex nodded her thanks and the two of them rejoined Riss and Lou. She nodded again as they met back up with the others.

  “It’s them,” Lex told her friends with a smile.

  “About time,” Riss said with a nod as they all began to carry their gear onstage.

  They set up quickly, Lex trying not to look too often in Kate and Victor’s direction. When she saw Lou and Riss had almost finished setup, she walked to each of them and whispered something. They both nodded, and moments later they opened with “Heart’s Abode,” the one from the video. Some of the people in the audience started clapping, seeming to recognize it, and Lex looked over at Riss with a look of surprise only to meet her friend’s nod and smirk that seemed to say, “I told you so.”

  Lex couldn’t tell if the performance went fast or slow; sometimes she felt incredibly anxious that her friends would get lost in the crowd, and other times the set seemed to go too fast for her to catch hold of. She finally decided to stop worrying and let her concerns go to focus on the performance. After a while, Lex got so into it that she felt herself living the songs, and then their part of the show was over. She thanked the crowd, feeling dazed, and reminded them the band had CDs for sale before beginning to pack up her things. A moment later, she looked up to see Riss.

  “Why don’t you go ahead and go?” Riss said, giving Lex a small smile. “I’ve got this, and Lou always carries our amps out, anyway.”

  “Thanks!” Lex exclaimed, putting her hand on Riss’ arm before disappearing backstage.

  When she barreled out the stage door a minute or so later, Lex felt her worry climb again as, to her surprise, she ran into a couple of fans. Shifting from foot to foot, Lex spoke to them for a few minutes and actually signed one girl’s CD at her request. On a normal day, she would have been bowled over by the idea, but didn’t have time to think as she made her excuses after a few minutes to move out and scan the club area. Her heart sank as she glanced to where Kate and Victor had been standing and saw no one, but as she looked at Casey she caught the taller woman’s eye, even though a number of people waited to buy CDs. Casey gestured her head in the direction of a corner bar, and Lex felt a surge of relief as she gazed over to see Victor and Kate waiting for the bartender.

  Lex had a moment of doubt as she pushed through the crowd until she stood just behind Kate, but swallowed and mentally shoved it away, then cleared her throat before leaning towards Kate’s ear to make sure the other woman could hear. “Excuse me,” Lex said, then watched as Kate half-turned towards her.

  Although she’d been reasonably sure before, relief flooded Lex as Kate faced her and she recognized her lost friend, unable to help smiling. At the same time, the look of recognition that crossed Kate’s face didn’t seem the same. Kate smiled in return and nodded.

  “Hey, I saw your show. Your band was really great,” Kate said.

  “Thanks,” Lex said as she leaned forward a little more, quickly scanning the area around them and seeing no one paying them too much attention. “Kate, it’s me, Lex,” she said quietly but in a clear voice.

  When she stood back up straight, Lex could see the shocked expression on Kate’s face. Her friend gasped, and then Kate had a hand on Lex’s arm, not gripping tightly enough to hurt but holding on.

  “I thought you were dead,” Kate said quietly as she leaned forward, not letting go.

  Lex found it hard to read Kate’s whole expression because of the big sunglasses she wore, but her friend appeared shocked and wary. Smiling, Lex leaned forward again.

  “Yeah, I was, twice, but Casey kept an eye on me so I pulled through,” Lex murmured into Kate’s ear, tilting her head in the direction of where Casey was still selling CDs.

  Kate’s mouth fell open as she spotted Casey, and Lex bent to her ear once more. “Has anyone been following you?”

  This time when Kate turned back to look at her there was a broad smile on her face. “No,” she said as she quickly leaned forward to Lex’s ear, “we managed a clean break. You?”

  Lex smiled in return as Kate squeezed her arm affectionately once, then let go. “Hey, we’re dead, remember? Burned up in a fire.” she said in a murmur.

  “Yeah, I forgot,” Kate said with a smirk, looking Lex up and down as if to say that she looked pretty healthy for a dead person.

  “Why don’t you come and meet the rest of the band? How about if we talk about everything after the show? Maybe we could take you to breakfast?” Lex said, trusting Kate to realize she meant to find someplace more private to talk later.

  “Sure,” Kate said, now smiling broadly. She turned to Victor, who had finally finished the transaction with the bartender and was bringing two beers over. “You remember Lex, don’t you?” she asked.

  Victor gave them an intense look of surprise, and Lex saw that he almost dropped the bottles he carried in his shock. After a breath, he looked over at Kate and, after reading her relaxed, happy expression, chuckled once.

  “Yeah, I remember her,” he said, handing Kate a beer and taking a sip of his own. “I take it we’re going to be hanging out with the band tonight?”

  “I always wanted to be a groupie,” Kate responded, following Lex in the direction of the merchandise table.

  Several hours later, the bunch of friends had found an all-night diner and been seated at a quiet corner table.

  “So,” Lex said as she sipped some tea, “I think you owe me a story, Kate.”

  Kate raised her eyebrow as she put a forkful of pancakes in her mouth, then appeared to remember something as she nodded, then swallowed. “That’s right, I did say I’d tell you what was going on if we ever met again. I’m going to have to tell as much as I remember, though. I’m sure I’ve forgotten some things, since it happened a while ago now.”

  Sighing, Kate took a sip of water before beginning. “It all started when I met up with one of the private investigators that I’d asked to look into Neil’s disappearance.” She looked up at the rest of the table for a beat. “Neil was my boyfriend, and he vanished around the time I’d been working for the Alpha team for about a year and a half,” Kate explained. Riss and Casey both nodded as Kate continued.

  “I’d had a couple of others look into it, but no one had turned up anything. I finally turned to the last detective I used out of desperation; I’d heard a few recommendations that Randy Cole specialized in missing persons, so I decided to give him a try. He didn’t find anything much at first, but then he started asking me questions about the identities of some of my co-workers and whether I was still working with them. I didn’t want to answer because of all of that secrecy paperwork they made us sign when we joined up, but he assured me that he needed it for the investigation and would otherwise keep it completely confidential, so I told him names of some of the people I worked with then and some of those who’d left.

  “I didn’t hear from him for a while, then I got this strange call. He sounded really nervous and asked me to meet him at Union Station. When I got there, Randy said he only had about an hour before his train left. When I asked about it, he shook his head.

  “‘I dug too deep,’ he said. ‘I’ve got to get out of here and find somewhere to lay low for a while.’

  “I figured he was joking at first, but then he started telling me what he’d found out. When all of the normal leads had run dry, he’d researched some of the people I’d told him
about and tried to find anyone they’d been dating.

  “‘It was a long shot,’ he said, ‘but after I looked at your squeaky clean guy and couldn’t find anyone who wanted him gone or any sign he’d been wanting to leave you, I decided to check it out, since you mentioned you had a co-worker with a similar story, and I wanted to see if there was a connection.’

  “The strange thing, he told me, was that most all of them had one, for any that he could manage to talk to. Sometime after coming to work for the organization, all of them he’d talked to had partner break ups if they’d been dating anyone. Most of them were quite early on; my case was the longest one, he said.

  “When Randy went to talk to the boyfriends and girlfriends, he said he nearly hit a stone wall. The majority of them slammed their doors in his face when he explained what he wanted to know. A few of them even ran away. But, he finally found a couple willing to talk to him.

  “One man had split up with an acquaintance of mine who’d left Alpha about six months after I’d arrived. I didn’t get a chance to know her well, since she was gone so quickly, but Jill seemed attractive, kind, and smart. Apparently, the man pretty much broke down when Randy asked him about Jill. He was anxious to talk to Randy, giving him a photograph of her and asking that if the detective found her during the investigation that he pass along whatever information he got. Randy seemed embarrassed about the whole thing, but he mentioned the man cried when he talked about some shadowy people who showed up a number of times to offer to pay him off to leave Jill. Finally, when they began to threaten his life he broke things off, but he told Randy that he’d really only done it hoping that he and Jill could get back together later. The man said that it wasn’t long after that, however, that he stopped being able to get in touch with her.

  “Randy recounted how frantic the man seemed and how he’d showed the copy of the missing persons report he’d filed. The police had called him a couple of days later, though, saying how they’d checked with her employer and had been told everything was fine; she just didn’t want to speak to him. According to Randy, the man just went on and on, explaining how he knew something had happened to her, that she hadn’t been angry, just sad when they broke up, and that they’d continued to talk until her disappearance. Finally, Randy had to leave, but it looked to me like he still felt sorry for the guy.