‘It took a lot of effort,’ Cygnus countered, pouting.
‘You’re right though,’ Red said, ‘Twilight would have liked to have seen that.’
‘Her not being there was why I did it. They had a lot of firepower on the dock. There were a couple of rocket launchers. One of the crime scene people said the cargo didn’t look like anything he’d ever seen before.’ Cygnus glanced across the bar to where Red was standing. ‘I think they were shipping Excelsior.’
‘It would explain the added security and the attempt at something new to get it here.’ The blonde ex-heroine smirked. ‘Won’t be trying that again.’
‘Not until they build a new boat,’ Cygnus agreed.
‘And you’ll be all over the news again.’
The blonde current-heroine sagged. ‘Don’t remind me.’
Boston, MA.
‘Your friend is on the news,’ Marcus said as Andrea walked into the kitchen for breakfast.
‘Cygnus? What’s she done?’ He was grinning, so it had to be good news rather than bad.
‘Caught some drug smugglers in a submarine.’
‘In a sub? How did she–’
‘Lifted it out of the water and dropped it on the dock.’
Andrea grinned, shaking her head. ‘That’s tough, even for her.’
‘Is she really that strong?’ Audrey asked. ‘I mean, they said it was five or six tons!’
‘I’ve never seen her lift that much, but yeah, she is. Strong, bulletproof, and slightly crazy. I’ll call her later and get the story…’ She stopped, smiling as she poured herself some coffee. ‘You know, it’s kind of cool to be able to say that around you.’
‘Any plans for today?’ Marcus asked.
‘Not really. I figured I’d hang around, chat when I could. Catch up, y’know?’
‘I’m afraid there won’t be much time until evening,’ Audrey replied. ‘Jilly called in sick. Again. And such a nice day to be sick on.’ She glanced at her husband. ‘I don’t think that one’s working out.’ Marcus gave a half-shrug, conceding the point.
‘Well…’ Andrea said, a little hesitantly, ‘I think I still remember how to waitress…’
New Millennium City, MD.
The arrival of Special Agent Bryant at the house came as something of a surprise, and Penny had to rush to change into Cygnus before answering the door in her wrap, bleary-eyed and wondering what was up.
‘Heather, uh, hi. What can I do for you? It’s something about that thing last night?’ She waved the agent into the house and then followed her through to the lounge.
‘Indirectly,’ Heather replied. ‘Good work on that, by the way.’
‘There were a few injuries involved I wasn’t happy with. One of the guys in the sub isn’t going to be walking any time soon…’
‘They took an army down there to ship in two tons of that filth. If it had got onto the streets, people could have died. If it had been the NMCPD trying to stop them, there would have been deaths on both sides. One guy with a broken back is a pretty good result. Most of them didn’t even get bruised.’
‘True… I guess you’re right.’
‘I am. Look, I got asked to get in touch with you because… Well, the press know we can reach Ultras. ACPN want to do an interview with you. You’re big news, I guess, and the only way they knew of to get in touch was by asking the local UID office.’
‘Huh.’ Cygnus poured two mugs of coffee. ‘I’d only do it if Twilight was there. I mean, I’d have to ask her if she was willing to do it with me. She’d probably tell me to do it alone, but I’d really prefer her to be there.’
‘Where is she?’
‘Visiting her parents. She’s got a lot to tell them.’
Heather grimaced. ‘I don’t envy her that one.’
Boston, MA.
Andrea moved through the tables with what looked like practised ease, but it was actually down to the fact that she was fast, nimble, and a trained gymnast. Being a waitress was not entirely unlike fighting a few dozen men, if the men were largely immobile anyway. The three young men on table two, by the door, were giving her some grief, but nothing more than she would expect from teenagers faced with an attractive girl. She was not expecting them to stay long anyway.
‘Take a break,’ her mother told her as she slipped into the kitchen. ‘I have no idea how you keep going for so long in those heels.’
Andrea grinned. ‘I learned to fight in heels like this. You remember how Andy always thought “real” heroines always wore heels?’
Audrey’s smile was a little bleak. ‘Yes, he used to say that.’
‘I’ll… give Cygnus a call,’ Andrea said, heading past her mother quickly. Marcus was taking everything really well, but Audrey was not. She was not shocked or horrified, but she was also not too happy. That was going to have to be talked through, but neither of them could afford the time right now.
‘All right. Ten minutes, okay?’
‘Sure, Mom.’ Andrea tripped up the stairs and found the phone in the lounge. A few seconds later her partner was answering it and she was saying, ‘So you’re all over ACPN again.’
‘Huh, yeah, well, you weren’t there and I had to improvise,’ Cygnus explained.
‘With a submarine? They’re using submarines now?’
‘Well, maybe not after this. They were shipping Excelsior, Andrea. Heather stopped over this morning and confirmed it.’
Andrea frowned. ‘Good thing you caught it then. Heather didn’t stop over to tell you that, I assume?’ She dropped onto the couch and reached down to take off her shoes. The little, black, cap-sleeved dress was fine, but maybe she should have worn lower heels.
‘You mentioned ACPN? They want to do an interview with me. I want it to be both of us. I don’t want to be taking all the credit all the time. Even if you don’t say much, I think you should be there.’
‘Not much of an interview if I sit there looking moody…’
‘She’s right, you know.’ Twilight’s voice sounded in Andrea’s head. ‘It’s time we showed our face, especially since we can show our face.’
‘Let me think about it,’ Andrea said out loud. ‘Now, I promised Mom and Dad I’d regale them with the tale of how you dropped a submarine on some drug dealers. Spill. I want details.’
~~~
Audrey was not good at being helped in the kitchen, but it gave Andrea the chance to talk to her, and the elder Morgan knew they needed to talk.
‘You understand,’ Audrey said, before Andrea could really say anything, ‘that I don’t think your sudden… change makes you any less my daughter? I’m not one of those idiots who think Ultrahumans are freaks.’
‘Glad to hear it, because I could teleport before this happened.’
‘Oh. Well, still, that’s not what bothers me. It’s that you’re putting your life at risk.’
‘I know, Mom. And that’s been bothering me a lot more since… since this happened. Since before then, actually. When I hooked up with Cygnus I said I didn’t want to get all girly about it. We worked well together and that was it. Then she came to me after she got hurt and gave me an envelope with the names of the people she wanted told if anything happened to her. She trusted me with who she really is, and with making sure her friends didn’t hear about her death on the news. I realised you might never even know what had happened to me so I gave her an envelope too.’
Audrey was silent for a second or two. ‘I guess it would have been better than finding out on the news, or never knowing where you’d gone.’
‘That was the idea. Of course, I also didn’t plan on her ever having to go through with it, but… Look at Jacob. He’s in the UID so he puts his life in danger all the time. Policemen, firemen… They don’t even get the kind of recognition I do. You…’
Audrey actually laughed. ‘When do I put my life at risk for work?’
‘In a few minutes, you’re going to put this food in the oven and then you’re going to walk down to the night deposit a
t the bank.’
‘Oh. Well… I suppose when you put it like that…’
‘I’m coming with you, by the way. If you got robbed it’d be terribly embarrassing.’
~~~
Generally the Morgans took turns going over to the Bank of America on Hanover Street to drop off the takings from the shop three times a week. It meant they swapped over the weekend drop and were never carrying very large amounts, but the Saturday night run tended to be the largest.
It was still early, so there were plenty of people about, fewer when they cut down the side of Old North Church which Audrey insisted was far faster than going around via Tileston Street. Which was true, but Andrea had a desire to teach her mother about personal safety as they walked into the shadows under the trees.
Not that it was dark to her. Not anymore. Now the night was as clear as day, even though the moon was barely a sliver in the sky. Even so, it was the voice in her head that alerted her to the three figures ahead of them.
‘Two on the left, one on the right,’ Twilight said, her voice hushed even though no one else could hear her. ‘The fact that they’re hiding suggests they’re up to no good.’
‘They were in the shop earlier,’ Andrea replied when she could make out a face. ‘At least, that one was and there were three of them then. I don’t have my sword or batons…’
‘We don’t need them. Just do as I say…’
‘Mom,’ Andrea said aloud, ‘stay right behind me.’
‘What? Is something…’ Audrey stopped as the three figures stepped out of the trees. There was barely enough light for a normal human to perceive them as anything more than shadows, a fact they seemed to be counting on since they were not even wearing masks. They were, however, carrying knives.
‘Okay, ladies, hand over the money and you don’t get hurt.’ The tallest of the three seemed to be the leader: his grin was broadest and he was doing the talking.
‘You boys really picked the wrong people to try to shake down,’ Andrea replied. ‘I’ll give you one chance to give up.’
‘The cash,’ the leader snapped, brandishing his knife.
‘I did warn you…’
The shadows seemed to climb up from the ground and envelope them. In one instant they were looking at the two women holding their illegal gains for the night, and in the next there was nothing but darkness. Except that there was something in the darkness with them, something old, angry, and hungry.
Just as they had come, the shadows fell away. One of the three was lying on his face, blood gushing from his nose where he had smashed it into the ground when he fainted. One was standing there staring at Andrea as though she had just sprouted horns. The leader, his bravado gone, was screaming his lungs out and slashing at the empty air around him.
The stunned one came to first, looking up at Andrea with a horrified expression on his face. She glared back at him. ‘Get lost before I decide you don’t deserve it,’ she growled. Turning, he almost fell over his own feet in his haste.
That left the leader. Stepping forward, she grabbed his wrist, twisted it until he dropped the knife, and then yanked his arm back to lock it behind him.
‘Mom, you got a phone on you?’ Andrea said, her voice calmer than she felt.
‘Uh… yes.’
‘Call the police. I’m not feeling as generous with this guy. He’s a lousy tipper.’
~~~
The darkness wrapped around her like a blanket. She heard the air conditioning click on as the temperature in the room dropped a few degrees, but to her it felt as though she was snug in bed, which was actually the case. Somewhere in her mind, Andrea felt Twilight stirring.
‘So, your first shadow cast. How was it for you? I loved it.’ The voice had a smile in it.
‘It felt… a little cold, at first,’ Andrea replied.
‘Yeah, but it grows on you, doesn’t it?’
Andrea smiled. ‘It was pretty good. Mom asked what I’d done to them and I hadn’t really got a clue.’
‘Fear of the dark is one of the most basic instincts. You develop it young and then most people grow out of it, more or less. But it’s not the darkness itself; it’s what might be in the darkness. We can just… let people feel that primal fear again.’
‘It seems to be effective.’
‘Oh, baby, you ain’t seen half of what we can do.’
Andrea was silent for a second. ‘I think… I think I’ll be watching from wherever you are. I’m not the fighter I was. I think you got the courage.’
‘Maybe. But you’re more level-headed. You won’t let your confidence override your common sense. We’re a team.’ There was a slight pause and then she added, ‘I don’t think we’re alone in here though. Have you felt her?’
‘Maybe. When I first came to. Sometimes when it’s really dark. I think I’m kind of glad she’s not talking to us. Who do you think she is?’
‘I think… she is darkness.’
30th March.
‘I still can’t believe someone tried to rob us,’ Audrey said over breakfast.
‘I can,’ Andrea replied, ‘but I have to admit that being Twilight may have given me a jaundiced view of humanity.’
‘Well,’ Marcus said as he walked in from the lounge, ‘it turns out it was sort of an inside job. That was the police on the phone. The two you captured talked and they’re bringing in the third, and also Jilly. Seems she was the one who told them when we took the cash to the bank and when the biggest haul would be going. They’re charging her as an accessory.’
‘Well… It saves you firing her,’ Andrea commented.
‘At least your jaundiced view of society hasn’t dulled your sense of humour.’
Andrea held up her hand, finger and thumb held half an inch apart. ‘Little bit. I do find some things funny that I probably shouldn’t, but it’s laugh or cry. Like Cygnus dropping a submarine on drug smugglers. I think that’s hilarious.’
‘No,’ Marcus replied, grinning, ‘that actually is pretty funny.’
~~~
Andrea stood on the roof, her eyes on the night sky. It was clear and there was no moon; the stars were bright and not even twinkling much. It would be a cool night, dark and cold in fact.
‘Perfect,’ Twilight commented.
‘You’re seeing this?’
‘I experience what you do, assuming I want to. We’re in the same brain.’
‘Good to know for when I’m back there. How… I mean, what does it take to get you out here?’
‘You know,’ Twilight replied.
The sound of a door opening stopped Andrea from asking what her other self meant. She glanced back and saw her mother walking over to stand beside her.
‘Careful,’ Audrey said, ‘you’re very close to the edge.’
Andrea grinned. ‘I stand on rooftops for a living, Mom. Well, a really serious hobby.’
‘I’m glad to hear you take it seriously. Looking at the stars or communing with the night?’
‘That sounded really pretentious. I’ll say stars. Cygnus actually knows what they’re called. She was into astronomy when she was a kid.’
‘Hence the name, I assume. Cygnus is a constellation. “The Swan,” I believe.’
‘Yeah, and you might get to find out why sometime.’
‘Not just the white costume… If you can call that a costume.’
‘Her friend designed it for her so you can’t entirely blame her for looking like a stripper. She does look incredible in it.’
‘Perhaps, but it seems like she’s trying to grab attention.’
Andrea shook her head. ‘No. Be memorable maybe, but she’s no glory hound. I make her handle the press because I don’t like doing it.’
‘You prefer being in the shadows.’
‘Uh-huh.’
There was a second or two of silence as both women stared up into the sky. Then Audrey said, ‘There was a tale my grandmother used to tell about a place in Italy, a castle above Lago di Molveno in the Alps. T
hey say it’s been there for centuries, the oldest parts overbuilt with newer stone. Sometimes someone stupid enough to be trying to prove his bravery would go up there. Some never returned, some came back and never spoke of what they saw, and a few told tales of shadows coming to life, terrible things never quite seen in the darkness, strange cultists. Scare story stuff. One man said he was shown a room under the castle where the darkness itself was alive. It spoke to him, but he never revealed what it said.’
‘Creepy Italian folk tales, Mom? How did my great-grandmother know about this anyway? I didn’t think your side of the family came from the Alps.’
‘Not after Frederico Neroni came back from the castle, no. They moved to Rome, and then America. He always said he wanted his family as far away from Schatten Schloss as possible, but they would never be able to go far enough.’
‘Your maiden name is Neroni,’ Andrea said, suddenly feeling cold.
‘Frederico would have been your great-great-great-grandfather. You’re shivering. Let’s go down.’
Andrea nodded and turned away from the darkness.
31st March.
‘Don’t forget to call when you get back,’ Audrey reminded her daughter as they walked toward the gate. ‘And you could send a few more emails, maybe call a little more often?’
‘I’ll try, Mom,’ Andrea replied, grinning. In truth, she knew she had been avoiding too much communication since it reduced the lies, and now she could tell the truth. ‘I really will.’
‘Glad to hear it,’ Marcus said. ‘I’ll watch out for you on ACPN.’
‘They want to do an interview with me and Cygnus. I’m not sure–’
‘Do it. It’s about time you got more of the credit.’ He held up a hand. ‘I know you say you prefer to leave the press to Cygnus, but I bet she wants you to be seen more.’
‘Uh… yeah. The interviewers asked for her and she wants me on it too.’
Marcus nodded. ‘You do it, and you don’t be modest. I hate to say this, girl, but you’re going to be going public now and you’re going to need good press.’
‘Okay, you’re right, I’ll do it. They’re boarding, I’d better go.’ She gave each of them a quick kiss on the cheek and then turned, rushing to join the end of the queue.
Shadows (Ultrahumans Book 2) Page 8
