The cop snatched the tablet away. “Do you have any identification?”
“No. I’m fifteen.”
“Is there anything on you that I should know about? I’m going to search you, and it’s better if you tell me first. Drugs? Weapons?”
Brendan had fallen for the trick once before when he’d gotten stopped and harassed while in middle school. The cop wanted a confession. But Brendan had nothing to hand over and wouldn’t even if he did.
“We weren’t doing anything. We were just hanging out.”
“When I go over to those benches, am I going to find beer?”
“Only if you put it there.” It came out of his mouth before he could stop himself.
The cop glowered. “Lean on the car.”
Brendan didn’t move. He looked at the tablet in the cop’s hands. “I just want to go home.”
“We’re past that now. Hands on the car.”
The cop went for Brendan’s good wrist. Brendan pushed the man’s hand away with ease. The upstream water had kicked in. The cop tried again to grab him. He was a young officer and in good shape, but Brendan sidestepped him and yanked the tablet from the man’s hands. The cop paused and then leaped at Brendan. Brendan got out of the way.
The cop fell forward and landed on his hands and knees. He clicked the radio on his shoulder. “I need backup at the north park entrance.”
Brendan was about to run, but then he considered the idling car. He went around to the open driver’s-side door, reached inside, and with all his might pulled down on the steering wheel. Plastic and metal snapped as the steering column broke.
The cop got up and unsnapped something from a holster. Brendan ran in the opposite direction, hoping that the car and distance would keep him from being Tasered. If the cop had a pistol and no compunctions about shooting a fleeing youth in the back, then Brendan was dead.
No shots came.
Brendan went down pedestrian alleys between homes and vaulted a few fences. He didn’t think Dutchman Springs had anything fancy like a helicopter, but they could summon more police in cars. Dogs were barking throughout the neighborhood. The cop cars were harder to hear than the police cruisers he remembered back in New York. You could hear the large Chevy internal combustion engines from a block away, but these new electric cop cars were sneaky.
Bright lights flashed across yards and down alleys, surprising Brendan and almost catching him twice. He found a dark home with a backyard where he could pause and catch his breath. A cat paused to purr at his feet as he hid.
Their thin plan was showing its weaknesses. They had no way to communicate with one another. At least he had the drones. He flew the two from the park overhead and checked on the third flying above the headmaster’s house.
Nothing had changed. The guard out front was watching a video on his phone. Paul was thoroughly engaged by a commercial. Brendan had the other two drones fly in different directions and assigned them to target pedestrians. A couple of minutes later he found two girls heading down a sidewalk at a rapid pace. He brought the drone in close and confirmed it was Charlotte and Tina.
He dropped the drone down in front of them and turned on the drone’s audio pickup.
“Real smooth,” Tina said. “You trying to get arrested?”
He had the drone follow them until he saw where they were going. He sent both drones ahead to the headmaster’s house and hurried to catch up.
The cops continued their search, and a police car crawled past down the main boulevard. But Brendan didn’t see them again once he crossed over to the smaller residential streets. He was surprised at the lack of traffic and other pedestrians. Other kids should have been out and at least a few people walking their dogs, but he saw no one.
He met up with the girls under a large tree at the corner of the cul-de-sac and told them what happened.
“That could have gone smoother,” Tina said.
“The cop was going to take me in,” Brendan said. “What was I supposed to do?”
“What’s important is that we’re fine,” Charlotte said. “But they’ll keep looking. We just need to be more careful. I didn’t think the police would be so aggressive.”
Tina nodded in agreement. “Two cop cars to roust a few kids at ten at night is a little excessive. Maybe we just irritated the wrong neighbor.”
Charlotte checked her phone. “Is my dad’s car there?”
Brendan got out the tablet and had a drone check the garage. It only had one covered car inside and there was an open spot for another. He showed Charlotte the screen.
“Maybe we’re making this harder on ourselves being sneaky,” Charlotte said. “Let’s go and see if we can talk to Paul.”
“You mean rescue,” Tina said.
Charlotte took the tablet from Brendan and reviewed the footage. “Maybe. It’s possible they never tried to escape, as they have no idea how to get home. It could be they’ve settled into some sort of routine. We don’t know where Poser is, but Paul seems comfortable enough.”
Tina looked over Charlotte’s shoulder. Paul was still fixed to the couch. “I guess houseplants can be comfortable.”
“Do you recognize the guard?” Brendan asked.
Charlotte nodded. “He’s one of my dad’s men. Works for the school. He might be thick, but he’ll follow orders and try to stop us. It will be best if we can incapacitate him. That will put us on a timer. My dad could come home at any minute or could have a schedule where he checks in. But I say we at least go and bring Paul home and see what we can learn about Poser.”
Tina cracked her knuckles. “Finally, some action.”
After a brief deliberation they headed for the front door. The guard wasn’t there. Charlotte tried the door but it was locked.
“Let’s go around back,” Brendan said.
But Charlotte went to a decorative painted stone that looked like a ladybug and produced a key from underneath it.
“Is this vault of your father’s just as secure?” Tina asked.
Charlotte opened the front door and went inside. Brendan and Tina followed. The security guard was in the kitchen, leaning on the counter, apparently half asleep. He jerked upright when they walked in. Brendan could see he recognized Charlotte.
“You’re here,” the guard said.
Over on the couch, Paul sat up and looked over at them, a look of confusion on his face.
The guard picked up his phone from the counter. “Don’t,” Charlotte said, but he ignored her. She snatched it from him and crushed it with her hands. The guard backed away.
“Please go sit down over there.” She pointed to a plush chair near Paul.
“Hi Paul,” Tina said brightly. “We’re here to rescue you.”
“Wha?” Paul said.
“You’ve overstayed your welcome. Time to go back to where you belong.”
“Where’s Brian?” Brendan asked. Paul’s perplexed look didn’t falter. Perhaps the upstream world’s air throttled the amount of oxygen to the jock’s brain. “Brian. Poser. Where is he?”
Paul took a moment, then said, “He’s upstairs. They lock him in his room.”
Brendan caught Tina’s eye and both went for the stairs. The upper floor had a number of doors, some ajar. Brendan found one at the end of the hall that was locked with a turn bolt on the outside.
Brendan unlocked it and opened the door. “Brian?”
The smell of musty sweat hit him. The room was dark. Poser lay on a bed, his long, pale frame sprawled out over most of the mattress. The blankets and sheets were pushed aside. He rolled over to face the door. “Hey, hey, look who it is,” he said weakly.
Brendan and Tina went to the side of the bed. Tina gasped and held a hand to her nose. There was a bucket on the floor that reeked of vomit. The nightstand held a glass of water and several bottles of pills, prescription medicine judging by the labels. A tablet and a few paperback books lay on a scrunched pillow. The room was well furnished, like the rest of the house, but it lacked
any other personal belongings. There was a large TV on top of an ornate chest of drawers. A door to a private bathroom was open.
“What happened to you?” Brendan said.
“Long story. You got the time?”
Brendan helped Poser sit up. “Probably not. We should get you out of here.”
“Thank god. I hate this place. Took you long enough.”
He needed help sitting up. He only wore sweatpants. Tina found a shirt in a pile of clothes and handed it to him.
“Can you walk?” Brendan asked.
Poser leaned on him and stood.
A loud crash came from downstairs. They heard Charlotte shouting. Tina raced out and vaulted down the steps. Brendan almost carried Poser as he hurried to catch up.
The security guard was crumpled against a kitchen cabinet. Charlotte had Paul cornered in the living room. He had a phone to his ear, and she was trying to take it from him. Paul’s eyes went wide as Tina closed in.
“No, I don’t know the address,” Paul said, his voice breaking. “I’m at Sperry Appleton’s house. He’s the headmaster at the academy. Look, there’s people here—”
Charlotte pushed him against the wall and plucked the phone from his hand. He couldn’t dislodge her hand from his chest. She crushed the phone. When Paul saw this, he went slack and she dropped him.
“Whoa,” Poser said. “So this must be Charlotte. You didn’t tell me your girlfriend was a superhero.”
“Not enough time to explain,” Brendan said. “Do we need to tie him up?”
“Don’t touch me!” Paul cried. “This isn’t your house. You don’t have any right to be in here.”
Tina leaned over him. “Boy, you must have gotten brainwashed or something. We’re here to take you home.”
Poser sighed. “Paul’s not the brightest bulb. He hasn’t quite wrapped his head around where he is.”
Charlotte considered Paul. “He can’t stay here. He doesn’t belong. Paul, you’re coming with us. We can either wrap you up with duct tape, or you can cooperate. But you’re going home.”
Paul’s lower lip quivered. “Okay,” he said finally.
“The vault will have to wait until we get everyone back where they belong.”
Brendan was happy to hear that. He got keys off the security guard, then went out the front door and hit the unlock button. One of the tiny electric cars parked on the street blinked its lights.
Tina helped Poser along down the front steps. “Are we even going to fit in that thing?”
“No choice,” Brendan said. “Cops will be here soon.”
Charlotte emerged with Paul in tow like a little boy being dragged to school by his mother. Charlotte was on the short side and the sight made Brendan chuckle. She got him into the cramped back seat and piled in with him. They sat Poser down in the front passenger seat.
“You drive,” Tina said. “I’ll follow and meet you at the park.”
“Squeeze in,” Brendan said. “We’ll manage.”
Tina considered the cramped compartment and then looked down towards the corner. “I don’t plan on managing. I plan to have fun.” A smile creased her face. She ran off.
“Where’s she going?” Charlotte asked.
“She’ll meet us.”
Brendan started the car and struggled to get out of the parking space. He drove to the intersection in time to see the flashing lights of a police car approach. Tina appeared out of nowhere in front of it. The cop car swerved and came to a stop. Two officers got out.
Brendan put the car in park.
“Drive,” Charlotte said. “We have to get them back home. That’s the mission. That’s what we agreed on. Tina can handle herself.”
The lights from the police car made it difficult to see what was happening. Tina just stood there as the cops closed in. She turned her head in his direction. He saw a thumbs-up. He cursed under his breath and put the car in drive. It puttered forward. He headed towards the park and the gate home.
4. The Name of Science
Large lights had been set up in the park. Brendan could see them before even turning the corner that would have taken them to the park entrance. He pulled across a driveway.
“Something’s going on,” he said.
“Check it out,” Charlotte said. “But be careful.”
Brendan got out of the car. Poser climbed out on his side, using the car door for support.
“Stay here,” Brendan said. “I’ll be right back.”
“Famous last words. I said them myself before getting grabbed.”
Brendan kept to the shadows by navigating the front yards of the houses that faced the park. He made out two large vehicles that looked like delivery trucks parked near the covered benches inside the park. Light stands had been set up that were shining out onto the playground and the hill. Several people moved about the park. They didn’t appear to be wearing uniforms of any kind. They held devices in their hands and occasionally spoke into radios.
He was about to continue forward when the garage door next to him began to roll up. The lights inside the garage came on and a man in a bathrobe and slippers shuffled out and crossed the street. Someone Brendan hadn’t noticed emerged from the shadows of one of the trucks and intercepted the man. This new guy looked like a cop in a dark uniform and boots and a black cap. He wore a holstered pistol. A lanyard with an ID card was around his neck.
“What are you folks doing?” the man in the bathrobe asked.
“We have a shelter-in-place situation, sir. We’re asking everyone to remain inside their homes and lock their doors and windows.”
“What for?”
“We have a fugitive that’s possibly dangerous. Return to your home, sir.”
The man in the bathrobe was escorted back to his garage. Brendan pulled himself back as far as he could manage behind a plastic recycling bin. The garage door went down but the shadowy figure remained in place. He said something into a radio, and the radio clicked a few times. From his belt he produced a flashlight. He shined it on the house number and made another report. He then moved on, walking down the street.
As Brendan watched, he noticed two other guards. Brendan counted at least ten people in the park and the street. Getting to the hill unnoticed would be impossible. And even if they made it, they had no way to quickly enter the gate while assisting Paul and Poser.
Brendan retreated back to the car.
“There’s cops and people everywhere. I didn’t think I caused that much of a ruckus. Someone knows we’re here.”
“Or someone is looking for the gate,” Charlotte said. “If we found it by following our noses, then they’ll find it too.”
“Tina’s going to be here any minute, assuming she handled the cops.” Brendan got back out of the car and looked around.
“Wait, what do you mean handled?” Poser asked. “I know I’m behind a few chapters here, but how exactly is she going to manage that?”
“You know who Popeye is?” Brendan asked as he scanned the night.
“No.”
“Then you’re hopeless, and it’ll take too long to explain.”
There came a chorus of shouts. Brendan got into the car. With the headlights off, he rolled forward until they had a view of the park. Everyone seemed to be heading towards the playground.
It was Tina.
Highlighted by several flashlights, she jumped away from a downed security guard and sprang forward into another.
Brendan laid on the horn. The pathetic beep caught her attention for a moment, but then she stiffened and fell forward. One of the people around her held a Taser, and the weapon’s wires extended out of it in Tina’s direction. At least one of the uniformed men held a pistol. The people in the park surrounded her still form.
Charlotte clamped down on Brendan’s arm and took his hand off the horn. “There’s too many.”
He felt like punching the steering wheel, but instead he took a few deep breaths. A white flashlight shined in their direction. Some
one stepped between the vehicles and began approaching.
“Make a choice, man,” Poser said.
Brendan put the car in reverse. The man with the flashlight shouted at them and started running. Stopping and turning the car was less Hollywood and more three-point turn.
“Get out of the vehicle,” a man ordered. A second man tried to get in front of them, but Brendan kept his foot floored on the accelerator. The car left the men behind, but Brendan could see both were on their phones.
There’s still time to save her. He could still pull over. He was stronger than any one of these people, and he could do something before they took Tina away.
“Don’t slow down,” Charlotte said. “Head for the school.”
Brendan considered the street behind him in the rearview mirror. Then he looked over at his sick friend. Poser said nothing.
He gunned it. The car responded slowly and took them at a sensible pace towards Not-Earth’s Dutchman Springs Academy.
***
They pulled into a parking spot in one of the school’s lots.
“We’re going straight for your dad’s office, right?” Brendan asked. “Give me a minute.”
He summoned the three drones. He sent one to his old dorm and the other two to the science and humanities buildings. The large windows by each front door made perfect targets. He sent in the machines to attack.
Charlotte was leaning over his shoulder. “Not bad.”
Soon each targeted building had a broken front window. A distant series of alarm bells began sounding. He recalled the drones and had them land. They climbed out of the car, and Charlotte collected the drones. Paul was looking out into the night as if confused. Brendan pointed him in the direction of the admin building.
“Why are we at school?” Paul asked.
“This is how we get you home.”
Brendan felt déjà vu as he geared up to break the lobby window again. This time he flat-palmed the window, and it bent inward and spidered up. With another shove it fell in. He felt a surge of strength, a rush that he never wanted to end.
The Supervillain High Boxed Set: Books One - Three of the Supervillain High Series Page 46
