"I just stopped the bleeding, gave him a fighting chance," Zeke said as he sat on the motorcycle behind her.
She didn't even nod. Just started the motorcycle and darted off the sidewalk. Her speed was so fast that the bike fishtailed before she righted it.
It was probably her imagination, but she could feel the eyes of everyone who lived on the street staring at her through their windows and doors as she sped off.
The secret vigilante, the protector of Jet City.
Who had just tried to kill a man.
#
The neighborhood of Park Side, where they'd just left Domino, butted up against the seedier parts of the Warehouse District. Rebecca was grateful that in the few minutes it took them to get to where Justine had been taken, the rain had stopped. There weren't any working street lamps in this part of the Warehouse District, and the clouds still blocked out the moon, so they arrived in darkness. Rebecca liked it that way and hoped it would be harder for them to be spotted. She had just covered her R12 motorcycle with the tarp when a bullet zinged past her.
She and Zeke ducked behind a nearby trash bin as several more bullets impacted the warehouses around them.
"He said to come alone Zeke," said a voice that sounded like it was coming from above.
"Yeah well, he doesn't usually keep his promises either," Zeke said.
"Come out alone and we'll let the weirdo go."
Zeke looked at Rebecca and she shook her head.
"In my experience," she said. "That never works."
"I know, but they have us pinned down."
She nodded. "You go out. They will come down from wherever they are, if not, ask them to. I can get the jump on them."
Zeke hesitated and then nodded. "I'm coming out!"
"Good boy," said the voice.
Rebecca saw Zeke's jaw tighten at the words and she couldn't blame him.
He walked into the middle of the street that ran between the warehouse they'd been hiding beside and another one where Rebecca assumed the shooters had been waiting for them.
"Alright, I'm here. Why don't you come down and we can get this over with."
Rebecca heard the sound of people climbing down ladders and the splash of boots or shoes in puddles on the sidewalk.
She peered around the corner and saw three men with guns and a fourth with a condescending smirk walk up to Zeke. One of the men began to handcuff Zeke's hands behind him while the others turned around and began walking toward a particularly run down warehouse across the street.
Rebecca waited until they'd crossed the street and had walked a few feet down the sidewalk before creeping from the shadows. She stepped on silent feet and was about to run toward the men when something hard hit her in the head and everything went black.
CHAPTER SEVEN
6
Zeke tried to calm the pounding of his heart. He could feel the terror welling up inside of him, clogging his throat, making his mind feel overwhelmed. Breathing slowly was hard, but he had to stop panicking if he wanted to get them out of here.
He didn't know how long it took, but eventually, his heart slowed, and his mind began to clear. The anxiety had been getting better the longer he'd been away from Mr. Fry and his men. But all it took was being back with them for a few minutes for Zeke to feel like a rat caught in a trap again.
"I don't have to stay that way," he said, willing himself to believe it. "I can escape them. Justine and I, we can escape. We can do this."
Zeke took a few more steadying breaths and then looked around the small room where they'd been locked up. There were two very small windows near the ceiling, and a bare bulb hung overhead, giving off sparse light. The smell of gas and some other chemical-tinged the air, but not strong enough to poison them, at least not yet. The floor was cement covered with a thick layer of dust and there was one door leading out of the room, which looked like it had been fitted with a new dead bolt. There were old boxes piled in one corner and a hodge podge collection of rusted spare parts in another. Justine laid on what looked like a pile of blankets, none of them looked too clean but at least Zeke hoped it was soft. Her eyes were closed, her hands were cuffed in front of her and there was a gag in her mouth. Zeke watched as her chest rose and fell at regular intervals and wondered what was happening with the baby. Was it still alive? Was Justine alright?
He'd heard of some women falling asleep towards the end of their labor, just before delivering and hoped that's all it was.
Serpent was tied up in a corner, unconscious. Zeke could see dried blood on her forehead and worried that she might have a concussion.
If I could just get out of these...
The handcuffs were loose enough to start to get his hand free but not all the way.
Didn't I have an uncle that could get out of handcuffs? Did I or...?
Memory loss was one of the side effects of whatever Mr. Fry had done to him. Sometimes things would come to him in bright pictures and Zeke would know who or what he was seeing. But most of the time it was all murky images and the feeling that he should recognize what was flashing through his mind. In those moments, the grief of what he'd lost would overwhelm him. So he'd stopped trying to remember his family, childhood, anything of his past, it was too painful.
But now he had to delve into that part of himself that was like a stranger and try to find something to help him get free.
He closed his eyes and tried to sift through the shadowy parts of his mind.
My uncle...Houdini...No, that's not right...but he was...My uncle liked Houdini...
The memory was slippery but finally, Zeke found it, a cloudy image of a tall man with a wide grin, handcuffs flashing brightly in the sun. He could hear the low timbre of his voice, and saw-
Zeke opened his eyes, heart hammering.
"Dislocate the thumb...of course, yes," he said.
He took a deep breath and did it, surprised at how much pain a small joint could cause. The cuff slid off his right hand and dangled from the left one like a strange bit of jewelry. He worked the right thumb back into place with a breathy grunt and went to check on Justine.
Her pulse was regular but he wanted to know more. Using his powers was always tricky. He'd learned the hard way that to heal someone completely was just as bad a shock to the system as a traumatic injury. He'd honed his skills on bodies of various ages and levels of injury, but he'd never used them on a pregnant woman and was afraid of what might happen to the baby.
"But if I don't and something is wrong..."
Closing his eyes, Zeke let his powers out just enough to see inside Justine's body. It was always a shock, like suddenly finding himself in a foreign land. But also extremely fascinating.
He could see her heart beating strong, could see the glands in her breasts ready to give milk. Her blood had a foreign substance in it, and when he reached out to find out what it was, Zeke realized that they'd drugged Justine enough to keep her quiet.
I wonder...maybe I can see the baby.
He went a little deeper and found the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.
Cradled inside Justine was their child, eyes open, hands curled against its chest. The baby's heart was also strong, though he could tell that each contraction was stressful to the child. He wanted to stay and be with it, to tell it how much they loved it and how he'd do everything possible to keep it safe. But the longer he stayed, the higher the chance he'd do something by accident. And besides, Zeke had to get Justine and the baby out of this place.
I'll see you soon.
Zeke gasped as he came back to himself, tears on his dark cheeks. He brushed back some hair from Justine's forehead and kissed her.
Something moved behind him and Zeke turned to see Serpent moving her head. She winced and tried to move her arms, which were also handcuffed behind her back.
"Don't move," Zeke said, getting to her. "Sit still and let me get a look at you."
Serpent opened her eyes but Zeke could tell she was having a hard time foc
using. Once again he felt that strange jolt at being inside someone else's skin and could see that Serpent did have a concussion.
I hate head injuries, too much can go wrong. But I don't really have a choice.
Zeke touched the back of her head where the blood had matted the red wig. Under it he could see dark hair and a laceration that was still bleeding just a little.
Serpent moaned, trying to move away from him.
"You have to hold still," he said, taking a deep breath.
Zeke felt the power flow out of him, like a gentle brook, clear and beautiful. He could see Serpent's body, her organs and muscles, bones and finally her brain.
There it is.
He allowed his power to become concentrated and yet restrained, as he healed the bruising and the laceration. When he was satisfied that he'd done enough, Zeke slowly decreased the flow of his powers, until they stopped.
Zeke slumped a little, the after effects hitting him a little harder than usual. His head hurt, and his eyes became unfocused. Bile rose up in the back of his throat, but he didn't vomit. In a minute it had all passed, but it was nonetheless unsettling to take on another's pain.
"Thank you," Serpent said, her voice rough.
"Your head is-?"
"Much better. I can see and think. In the pouch on my belt, the one on my left hip...yeah, that one. There's a lock picking kit."
Zeke found it and with Serpent's direction he unlocked the cuffs.
"Got anything else in there to help us?"
Serpent shook out her wrists. "Not sure. Depends on where we are."
She began walking around the small room, examining the walls and floor.
Zeke went back to Justine, taking her pulse again and feeling useless. He had no idea what to do. Should he try to deliver the baby? How would they get out with Justine unconscious?
"Is she alright?" Serpent asked as she felt along one of the walls.
"I think so. They drugged her."
"I suppose that could be a mercy."
Zeke nodded wishing Justine would open her eyes and tell him what she needed.
Serpent began moving the old boxes out of the way. After a moment she laughed.
"What?" Zeke asked.
"I know this warehouse. I busted a bootlegger here a few years ago. If we can get to the basement there's an entrance to a tunnel. It will take us to the docks."
"You want to go underground?"
"It's better than out there, exposed and outnumbered. We need to do something they won't expect and try to get the advantage. I doubt these men know about the tunnel."
"So it's just a lucky happenstance that they chose this one?"
Serpent shrugged. "There's at least half a dozen warehouses in this area that used to belong to bootleggers so the chances were decent that they'd pick one."
"And how do we get to the basement without being seen?"
She looked at him, eyes narrowed behind her mask. "Do I have to think of everything? You know these men, so start thinking. What are they likely to be doing? How are they guarding you? How many do they have? You weren't knocked out when they brought you in, so help me out here."
Zeke felt ashamed. She was right, he was letting fear get to him and he couldn't do that. Justine and their baby were counting on him.
"I saw ten men, including the three taking me in and the one that brought you."
"One man took me out," she said, shaking her head. "I'm losing my touch."
"I think Mr. Fry is in the office at the top of the warehouse."
"Who's he?"
Zeke hesitated.
He hated thinking of Mr. Fry, it always made him feel sick and terrified.
But no more. I can't afford that anymore. I have to be strong and stop letting that monster have power over me.
He took a deep breath and said, "He's the one who did this to me."
"So he's leading the experiments."
Zeke nodded. "I got the impression that he's not just the money but also a scientist in his own right. I'm one of the few successful...specimens."
Serpent walked over to him and squatted down so she could look him in the eye. It was hard to discern an expression behind the mask she wore, but he could see a hint of sympathy in her blue eyes.
"How did he get you? Did he kidnap you or...?"
"I volunteered. It was a program through the military, to test vaccines. We were told that we would get education fully paid for afterward and an officer rank."
"But I'm guessing that wasn't the case."
"No. Most of us didn't make it."
"Are you the only one that has abilities?"
"I'm not sure. After I survived the initial test, I was secluded from everyone but the scientists and nurses."
Serpent looked at Justine. "Was she a nurse?"
Zeke smiled. "No, a guard."
"Really?"
"Shocked me too. Justine saw a lot of what they did to the others and tried to help a group of us escape. In the end, it was just me."
"And her."
"Yeah," he ran a hand through his hair. "She should've left me. I begged her, especially when she became pregnant but she wouldn't. Said we could make it on our own, start a new life."
"And you will," Serpent said, smiling at him. "But now you've got to be the strong one and help her."
"I know, but I've never been good at it."
"Until now."
Zeke took a deep breath and nodded. "Until now."
"Can you get what they gave her out of her system?"
"I thought of that, but I'm afraid of harming the baby."
Serpent looked toward the door. "We have to get out of here before she delivers, and to do that we need her walking."
He looked at Justine's serene face, his gut twisting with nerves. She'd tell him to do it, that they have to get the baby as far away from Mr. Fry and his men as possible.
"Alright," he whispered.
He reached out and found himself looking at the foreign chemical in her blood stream. With the greatest effort, Zeke concentrated and pulling it out of her system a little at a time. It felt like it was taking forever, but when Zeke was done, he realized that only a few minutes had passed.
Justine's eyes opened, and she immediately winced in pain.
"Zeke?" she said, grunting and clutching her stomach.
"What's wrong?" he asked, panic squeezing his chest.
"The baby, it's...coming very fast."
"Let me see."
Zeke examined her as quickly as he could, the doctor in him wanting to take more time, but that was a luxury they just didn't have.
"It's not crowning yet," he said.
"It will soon," Justine said.
"I didn't hear your gun at the hospital, I would've come and helped you."
Justine shook her head. "They chloroformed me, and I didn't have the chance to get a shot off."
Footsteps sounded near the door, followed by voices which were getting louder by the moment.
"Zeke, I'm going to need your help," Serpent said, hurrying back to the corner she'd been placed in. "Stay with her, and distract them, let them get all the way in the door. When I make my move, you need to fight, you understand?"
Zeke swallowed, fighting down the chaos of emotions inside of him.
"You...can do this," Justine said, her hand shaking as it reached for him.
"Yeah...Yes, I will."
A moment later the dead bolt on the door clicked and the door swung open revealing two very tall men in dark suits. They came in, each holding a long baton. Behind them was the man in all of Zeke's nightmares: Mr. Fry.
Tall and broad, with the charm of a gentleman and a lethal lack of conscious, Mr. Fry smiled down at Zeke and Justine, a dimple appearing in his right cheek.
"Well, well, well," he said. "You are full of surprises, Mr. Germaine. Getting out of your cuffs, escaping my facility and turning one of my best guards against me. Almost more trouble than your worth. But then you go and make a baby
."
His smile became wider, more feral.
"You know, I had hoped to breed you at some point, but not until I was sure we had awakened your full potential. Oh well, we must take things as they given to us sometimes."
Mr. Fry gestured to a man behind him, who was holding a huge, gleaming knife in one hand and a basket of towels with the other. "If you would do the honors? We have a plane to catch in a few hours and I don't feel like waiting for the bitch to deliver."
He said it as if he were asking for a favor, instead of carving a woman open and taking her baby.
"No, wait!" Zeke said. "You can't...please, I'll do anything you want. I'll go back, and I'll never escape again, just please let her live!"
Mr. Fry chuckled. "You don't seem to understand, Mr. Germaine. I will have that anyway, so unless you have something else to bargain with-"
The man with the knife collapsed to the floor, and Zeke saw Serpent standing where he'd been.
"Negotiations are over," she said, punching Mr. Fry in the stomach.
Zeke felt his body shake with adrenaline as he jumped up and punched one of the men. He tried to hit Zeke across the face with the baton, but Zeke grabbed his wrist and kicked him in the stomach.
Zeke had never been good at fighting or being quick enough to block an attack from anyone. But for whatever reason, maybe because his wife and child were in grave danger, he found himself able to be both quick and brutal.
He'd just knocked the man out when a scream made him turn around.
"Zeke!" Justine said as Mr. Fry dragged her out of the room.
He took off after them, ignoring Serpent's yell for him to stop.
CHAPTER EIGHT
7
Rebecca sprinted after Zeke, hoping she wouldn't have to argue with him about using the knife she'd picked up off the floor. Her hand tightened on the baton she'd picked up from one of the goons, relishing the feel of having a weapon in her hand once again. The main room of the warehouse was dimly lit, the smell of oil and something else hung pungently in the air. She looked around the covered machines that stood tall and behemoth like in the huge room and spotted Zeke.
Serpent Page 4
