Even though I was only eighteen, I felt as if I’d been through so much more than anyone. Yet, this girl, younger than me, intimidated me. “With names comes power. If I told you who I was, you’d be able to control me if you wanted.”
“That’s rather cryptic.” She hadn’t let go of my hand. In fact, she dragged me over to the table where the tacos were. “How about this? You just tell me how you know Crocodile?”
This was almost as bad, but I felt something inside telling me to give in. “She caught me trying to break into Wonder-Tech Tower. I thought I was a goner, but she told me to come here instead. If I did and keep my nose clean, no one would ever need to know.”
We both took a bite of taco at the same time. Me, trying to keep the awkwardness to a minimum and her thinking of her next question. “Why would you want to break in there?”
“I have my reasons.” Damn, these tacos were good. I grabbed another, not sure where my next meal would come from. “I thought there might be some answers to my questions locked away in there.”
“Well if you really want to get in, you came to the right place.” She came a bit closer, as if she was about to drop a huge secret. “I know Jericho Staley well. With the right encouragement from me, he’d let the two of us in.”
Huh, could this be a coincidence? Did Crocodile know Becky Walker came to these groups? “He bought out gl-O-bal Labs right?”
She seemed to be more interested in the cup of soda than answering me. “Yeah, not that I wanted to sell, but I didn’t want to be associated with that place after everything.”
“Plus it looks as if you’re a bit young to run a tech enterprise.”
She clicked me on the forehead. “I might be fifteen but I’m not stupid. My father made sure of that.”
Well I wasn’t about to let this golden opportunity get away from me. “So, you think you can get us in? I’d really appreciate it.”
“Tell you what…” She dragged me away from everyone else. “I need a really good reason to sneak you in. So, you let me in on your secret identity and I’ll really think it over.”
Names had power. The question was did I want to get into Wonder-Tech that badly I’d be willing to tell someone who I was? Or perhaps there was another way. No, lying was never the answer. So against my better judgement, “I’m Kyle Wonderton, John Wonderton’s son.”
Her eyes dropped away from me. She knew who my father really was. “My dad knew who John Wonderton really was.” She said it in disgust, like what her dad had done was the most deplorable act possible. “And so the legacy of The Dark Lion continues…”
Chapter 4 –
Tuesday Morning; Wonder-Tech Tower
I was reading over a file that came up from the R&D lab. It was the newest report stating the processing speed of the Predator cell phone with customer favorability. Based on my calculations, once we had fifty-one percent of the market, Heather would be able to use our network to trace everybody through their cell phone communications. There wouldn’t be a target that I wouldn’t be able to reach across this nation.
The Predator was sitting at forty-four percent with a favorability rating of ninety-seven. With one last ad campaign, I’d be able to initiate the next phase. In the meantime, I had other, more personal work to do here. It was time to look into the SVIS goons and get to the bottom of Titan.
I’d start with the animal control problem first. None of them must have been using my cell phones or else Heather would’ve known. Knowing that Mike Blackfield was one, I decided it was time to look more into my old friend and see where his life intercepted others. A quick internet search brought up a number of hits, including his obituary. Part of me was curious how Heather spun his death, but a greater part didn’t really care, not anymore. So instead, I found his old social media profiles.
Blackfield was the definition of boring. Other than an obsession with a comic book store down on Salt Water Cove and a Wednesday night bowling team, there was hardly anything that stuck out. Well, a comic book shop would be a dumb place to start, so I looked more at the bowling team photo. Apparently it was a mixed league and the team had three men and two girls. Why didn’t I do this sooner? “Ha, this is almost too easy.”
My success was disturbed by my office line. “Hey Collete,” I had hired a new secretary, “what’s up?”
The older lady was brisk and efficient, just the way a good business should be. “Miss Walker and a friend would like to tour the facility. Is that okay?”
Becky Walker, the prodigal daughter of Spades. When I bought gl-O-bal out, I promised her I would take good care of the business. If she wanted to take a look around every so often, I didn’t care. “Yeah, give them visitor passes and let everyone know to be very cordial to our guests.”
“Of course Mr. Staley.” The phone went dead and I knew Becky was in good hands. With that taken care of, I went back to my research.
Some more digging into the four other people in the photograph gave me names; Ervin Masters, Barbra Constance, Wendy Chalmers, and Nick Parson. Each had a very different background, yet one thing in common. Their birthdays were all around the time of the nuclear disasters. And just like that, I cracked the code of the SVIS.
I thought I’d be happier about it, but I felt let down. Granted, I never considered them much of a threat to start with, but to find them all in less than five minutes seemed to be a letdown. This was just more proof this wouldn’t be a challenge, not like The Dark Lion. He was an adversary worth fighting, worth putting everything you had into.
I printed off my findings and put them in my pants pocket. As I got up to go take a walk, two figures were walking around the top floor. I exited my office to greet them. “Well hello Becky, I see you’re making yourself at home.”
The girl was a spitting image of her father. “Of course Jericho, I told you I’d keep eyes on you, to make sure you didn’t follow in his footsteps.”
“I’m a man of my word.”
The boy who was with her looked a tad older, maybe seventeen, eighteen tops. He looked really familiar too, but I couldn’t place it. He kept his eyes low and shook my hand rather politely. “I’m a friend of Becky’s. I hope it’s cool she brought me along.”
Kids interested in technology warmed my frosty heart. “Of course it is! Make sure the two of you go check out R&D sometime today. I think they’ve got the newest game up and running for the Predator.”
“We know you’re busy sir, but thanks for letting us look around.”
I liked this boy, respectful and he had a thirst for knowledge written all over him. “You kids have fun. Come find me later if you have any questions.”
I bid them a farewell and took the elevator down to Legal. Lunch and revealing the identity of the supers to Heather might get some excitement back. The Legal floor was buzzing, with copyrights and patents flying between offices for signatures and research. I found Heather in her office reviewing the patent for the game I told the kids about. “Jericho? We weren’t supposed to have a meeting were we?”
“Nah, I figured I’d come save you from boredom with a quick lunch. Plus I have some files I’d like to go over with you.”
She seemed happy for the chance to get out of her office. “You want to try the Chinese place two blocks over?”
Everyone at Wonder-Tech knew the two of us were engaged in a relationship, but keeping it professional was paramount to me. I wasn’t running the company like John had, yet I found myself going back to the things he taught me. Was it weird to hold a dead enemy in such high esteem?
The sun was high as we got outside. Thankfully my newest sunglasses were up to the task. Imbedded in the left lens was an interface that when activated gave me identification on anyone I passed. I’d been able to hack into the FBI’s facial recognition database and thankfully as corrupt as the government was, there wasn’t anyone who didn’t register. But I didn’t need that today. Just the superior UV blocking they provided.
The Chinese place wasn’t very busy
, as it was still too early for the traditional lunch hour. The waitress was happy to escort us to a table in the back and I appreciated the low lighting the restaurant provided. As soon as we ordered our drinks, I pulled out what I was hoping would excite her. “I found them.”
She pulled the picture closer. “A bowling team?” Then she looked closer. “Is that Mike Blackfield?”
“One and the same. Which means his bowling team must be the SVIS guys.” I sat back and folded my arms, victory in hand.
She pushed it back over to me, happiness radiating off her. “With this, we can eliminate them in one swoop. We should go visit that bowling alley on Wednesday and put an end to them.”
I didn’t know if they still had the team, but I got the feeling these four probably had nothing else to hold on to. Even so, I wasn’t about to go crazy in the middle of a populated area. “No, we draw them out and take them down in a very public fight. Since we know who they are, we can discover what buttons to push to lure them in.”
“Does this mean I’ll be part of the fight?”
I did promise her that as soon as we found them, she’d be able to participate. “Yeah, which means I’ll probably need to design a battle suit for you. Even though they aren’t the sharpest knives in the drawer, they are still supers and can still deal damage. Plus we need to keep your identity a secret.”
She clapped her hands together, very giddy about the chance to get a real super human suit. “After lunch, I’ll email you some ideas on what I want for a suit. Color scheme and materials, you know? A girl still needs style.”
Her excitement lit a small spark in me. Also the chance to design a new battle suit from scratch intrigued me. I knew getting complacent was bad, especially with the Predator project closing in on its timeframe. I needed to be at one hundred percent when I began challenging multiple places. I needed to break out of this funk.
After we ate and returned to the office, another idea hit me. “A lackey, that’s what I’m missing.” And the perfect candidate hit me. I went back on the web and dove in, searching for clues about the burglar known as Hammerspace. Knowing his M.O., I found a string of unsolved thefts that Grimes was chalking up to my new friend.
I searched through photos, his image still in my mind’s eye from our encounter. Luck was on my side today, because for the second time, I got a match. Shawn Jordan, petty thief who disappeared from the scene three years ago. The same mischievous face that took my watch was on my computer screen. And thanks to the miracle of public records, I had a telephone number too.
I emailed Heather Mr. Jordan’s number and asked her to trace it. A minute later she responded with an address – 1161 Crest Ave. I put up my out of office; I had a business meeting to attend.
Chapter 5 –
Tuesday Afternoon; The Grab N Grub
It turned out my new favorite burglar worked as a line cook at a fast food restaurant. Talk about unexpected surprises. I went inside and the place was slammed, even a couple hours after lunch people were still grabbing burgers and fries to go. I wondered how the citizens of this city would feel knowing the guy making the food was not just a super, but one who enjoyed terrorizing them?
I walked up to the front counter and placed an order for a milkshake. As I was paying, “Is there a Shawn Jordan that works here?”
The girl taking my order pointed back to the kitchen area. “Yeah, he’s back there right now.”
I put my credit card back in my wallet. “If you could tell him someone’s here to see him, that’d be fantastic.”
She shrugged her shoulders and made my milkshake. “I’ll tell him, but he’s rude as hell. You’ve been warned.”
I thanked her for the info and took my drink. Something about this guy told me as soon as he heard someone was looking for him, he’d run out the back. Little did he know that’d be playing right into my hand. So as I went around the building, sipping on the vanilla goodness in a cup, I saw the man who stole my watch quickly exit the back door.
There was a power line running above us, giving me an easy supply of electricity to use. Tapping into the buzzing juice above me, I arced a fence around the sneaky little thief. He yelped as he almost ran into it and would’ve been fried before I even had the chance to reintroduce myself.
His eyes were bloodshot and terrified as I approached. As soon as my face came into view, recognition hit him. “You! You’re a damn powered too!”
“Not just any powered person Hammerspace, ‘the’ powered person of Pacific Station.”
It was a thrill to see everything come together from his point of view. He dropped to his knees, looking like he was ready to beg for his life. “Please, I had no idea you were him.”
He couldn’t even bring himself to say my real name. “Come on, it won’t kill you to say The Negative Man. The name’s not jinxed or anything sinister.”
“You kill people like me, every day!”
It was true that I wasn’t a big fan of disorder. Lack of control was a surefire sign a civilization was no better than the animals in which we came from. “You mistake what I do. Don’t think of it as killing; I purge the city of the bad elements. If you can understand that concept, I think I have uses for you.”
Whether it was fear or some semblance of understanding, he told me what I needed to hear. “I totally get it Mr. Negative Man sir. I know I can be useful to you and your cause.”
I snapped my fingers and the electricity disappeared, freeing him. “Good. As luck would have it, I already have a task for you.”
He seemed suspicious about that, until he realized again who he was dealing with. “Of course boss man, whatever you need.” I enjoyed his can do attitude, even if it was just for show. “Let me guess, you need something burgled…?”
“Oh no, there’s nothing you can steal that’d be of use to me, at least not yet.” I pulled the paper out with the SVIS names and pictures. “No, what I need is just some recon work. Find out as much as you can about these four people and report back to me in a few days. That should be pretty simple.”
He took the paper and looked it over. “Anything in particular about these four that strikes your interest?”
“Yes and no, but nothing you need to concern yourself with. But if you find something interesting,” I pulled a stack of hundreds out of my back pocket, “and don’t get caught, you’ll find yourself a few dollars richer.”
Greed, the ultimate motivator. “You got it. Where should I meet you when you’re ready for my findings?”
“Don’t worry my new friend, I’ll find you.”
****
As I was walking back into Wonder-Tech Tower, Becky and her friend were on their way out. “Did you guys enjoy the visit?”
“Yeah, the stuff you’re coming up with is amazing.” With kids it’s hard to tell if they’re blowing smoke up your ass or being serious. “Those games look almost as good as the next gen console ones.”
“I’m glad I continue to amaze you Miss Walker.” I waved once more at them as they wandered off into the street. Part of me was curious as to if she’d become a super like her dad. I hadn’t seen anything that confirmed anything, but each person’s development is unique.
I felt good about Hammerspace being on the job. Getting intel on those four would be easy and if he handled it well, I could move him on to the mysterious Titan. An actual smile formed on my face, not one of those forced ones I use when talking to people. Feeling alive again, I reached my office, ready to keep the good vibes going.
As I pulled my chair out, I found a manila folder underneath on the floor. That was odd, I never used them, so it couldn’t have come from my office. I picked it up and opened it. There was a bunch of faded papers, littered with notes everywhere.
At first, I didn’t really pay much attention as I breezed through the stuff. It looked like equations and other gibberish some scientist had been working on. About three quarters of the way through, a name hit me, one I hadn’t seen in a very long time: Dr. Leonard
Cooper.
For a long time Dr. Cooper was in charge of my growth. As a child, I’d been trapped in that research facility and experimented on. The only person who gave two shits about me was Dr. Ellison Staley. I respected him so much I even took his last name. My mother, ashamed of her involvement in the electron generator explosion, never wanted me to live in the family’s shame.
But Cooper, the man was an agent of evil. He tried desperately to get them to terminate me on a number of occasions, only to be stone walled by Dr. Staley and the government agents. When that didn’t work, he attacked the facility. Many people died during his raid – he used hired contractors as his private army. In the end, I was lucky to escape thanks to the only man who ever really cared about me.
It was all for naught though. A few years later Cooper found us. In cold blood, he killed Dr. Staley and left him for dead. Then like a coward he ran, not even sticking around to face me like a man. Fate, and me, would catch up to him a few years later. And when I did, I made sure his sins were paid in full.
Cooper had always been afraid of what I could do, how I could harm this country’s way of life. What he never understood, even when I found him years later and exacted revenge, is that he created the monster he feared. If the foolish man hadn’t gone out of his way to treat me like dirt and murder my only friend, he might still be alive and The Negative Man wouldn’t be here. So actually, I should’ve thanked him. Without his hatred, I never would’ve embarked on this quest to save people from themselves.
Seeing his name on the research caused me to dig a little deeper when reading. From the looks of it, he was trying to work out a formula that involved an attack that broke the sound barrier. All of his hypothetical experiments ended in failure until the very last one. What I read, I couldn’t even believe.
He wagered that if one super was fully charged at one hundred percent and was hit by an attack that broke the sound barrier, both powered people would die. He went deeper, deducing that this was the only way to effectively kill a powered individual who contained an extraordinary amount of negative energy. Only by using an attack that fast would it disrupt the electrical signature and cause his body to explode. The fall out would leave a path of destruction for miles, almost like a nuclear bomb – only the energy released would arc out in the form of lightning. He called this effect ‘The Stormfall.’
Pacific Station Vigilante (Book 2): The Negative Man [Stormfall] Page 4
