by Gideon Mills
“Ares,” he said. The man’s voice was shaky, and his legs were too. “What are you doing here?”
“I need to talk to the big man,” I said.
“Look,” he said. “We’ve been doing just as you said.”
I narrowed my eyes. “I just fought three dozen or more of your gang last night. Working for the crew doing the Broadway jobs.”
“That can’t be,” the man said. “You can go in; here, I’ll take you to Jose.”
The guard entered first, and I was right behind him. My mind was spinning with how sure this guy was that they didn’t do anything to deserve my wrath. It was clear to me they had. Or had Elric and Reign set me up to get arrested? Made it look like it was the Third Street Dragons?
The more I thought about it as we walked the narrow hallway, the more I was leaning that way. Reign was a dirty sick man, and so was Elric. Both were starting to piss me off and make me want to punch a car.
“Jose,” the man said, and knocked on a door.
“Enter.”
It was a different room than last time, but much the same. Jose, the leader of the gang, sat at a desk. He was behind a computer and typing. I had expected to find him in bed. It wasn’t even seven yet.
Ordinary gang members were fast asleep now. I had severely underestimated this man. The men under him did crimes, but he was more than that.
“Ares,” he said. He stood and walked around the desk. It was clear he was surprised to see me. Yet, another sign this wasn’t right.
“I think you and I have been used,” I said. I told Jose about the raid last night and the Third Street Dragons gear.
Jose groaned. “We had nothing to do with it. I’ve been doing my best to take the gang straight. Get us security gigs, and that wasn’t one of them.”
“Going legit, I like that.”
Jose smiled. “The way things are going, with so many gangs, ones that don’t adjust will die.”
“Criminals dying is pretty par for the course,” I said.
“I know, but I don’t want my family dying,” Jose said. “I think I know how they got our gear.”
Jose went on to tell me that two weeks ago, after one of the first legit jobs they had, some of the gear was stolen. They reported it to the police, but they didn’t seem to care. That was no surprise since the Third Street Dragons was still considered a gang.
“Okay,” I said. “I see that you and I are being used. We need to figure out who is behind this.”
“Reign,” Jose said.
I knew it, and he knew it. Yet, neither of us could prove it.
“We have to work together,” I said.
Jose nodded. “We can do that. Just tell me what you need from us.”
23
Confrontation
Jose and I spent an hour hammering out what I needed from him. In truth it was straightforward, and both of us agreed that, while simple, the task it was also dangerous. The Third Street Dragons needed to find the connection between Elric and the theft, and if possible, Reign. Neither was going to be an easy task.
“You sure you can do that?” I asked.
Jose shrugged. “We can try. I don’t want Reign on us, nor do I want you. This Elric put us in a bad spot.”
He had, and I didn’t envy the man. This was going to be tough, but it was nice to have yet another person working the case. Technically more than one person; while I didn’t know the full numbers of the gang, it was big. They would be a valuable asset if they continued to toe the line.
“All right,” I said. I gave him both my cell number and my email to contact me. Then I left.
The walk out of the building was tense for me. So far, there had been no sight of Reign, but it had been the same last time. It wasn’t until I left the building that the vile man ambushed me with his mecha suits and an enormous number of men.
This might just be the same, but I hadn’t broken any laws. Talking to a gang member, while not kosher to many people, wasn’t against the law. Even more so since Jose was trying to make the gang a legit company. I had seen the paperwork showing that he had incorporated the gang as a security firm.
That had been a good thing to see since it meant he was serious about it. The more I thought about it, having the Third Street Dragons on my side was going to be a good thing.
As I stepped out of the building, I paused. Taking in the surroundings. It was much later in the day. I tapped my comms. “Lola, have you heard any chatter?”
It took a minute, but she responded. “Nothing on the internet, or any of the worms I have in the police departments system.”
She had back doors into many systems that she had set up long ago, I’m sure back when she first started in the hacking world. From what she told me, her first hack was back when she was only ten years old. That blew my mind.
It was hard to wrap my head around. Seeing a mini Lola hacking away and breaking the law. That was a funny sight for sure, and it helped instill the confidence I had in her. She had been doing this for a long time.
As I took a step forward a man approached me. One that I knew, and hadn’t expected to see. Going into this talk with Jose, I’d been certain that when I left, Reign would be here. Trying his best to find a loophole to arrest me.
Yet, that wasn’t who strode towards me, and it wasn’t Elric either. The only person that would have shocked me more would have been my mother. Fenrir walked to me. He wore one of the best tailored suits I had ever seen.
In this part of the city, it made him stand out like a sore thumb. The man really didn’t belong here, and it showed.
“Ares,” he said. His voice smooth and causal. “You and I need to talk.”
I groaned. This was going to be a talk I didn’t like. I hadn’t turned off my comms device. “Talk to him,” Lola said. “But be careful.”
“Fenrir.” I took him in. This was clearly a man used to having people bowing to him, and bending to his will. A workaholic with success oozing from him. “What do you want?”
“Walk with me,” he said. “All will be told.”
I gestured for him to lead the way, and we left the building and headed south. The first minute was in silence as we walked the streets. The further we walked the more people filled them. Going about their day and lives.
“You and my daughter have been a pain in my side,” he finally said.
“We are fighting for what is right.”
Fenrir laughed. “Right? Wrong? That doesn’t matter, what truly matters is what is best for the people.”
“And let me guess, you know what that is.”
Fenrir nodded. “Since the arrival of the Paragons, the world has been in chaos.”
It was my turn to laugh. “The world has been in chaos for a long time. You can’t blame the Paragons.”
“Hmph,” Fenrir said. “They have made it worse. Wars cause more damage and death. The regular people are dying. We have to protect them. Remove the biggest threat to humans since the arrival of the atomic weapon.”
I shook my head. “Paragons are people too, and they don’t kill people.”
“I’ve seen first-hand the destruction your sister caused. That was just one Paragon. That doesn’t even mention the Paragon in Detroit or San Antonio that those heroes are dealing with.”
The way he said heroes showed just how much he hated them. That he blamed both the good and the bad.
“Get to the point,” I said. Already irritated with the man and wanting this to be over. “What is it you want from me?”
“You have power,” Fenrir said. “Sway over the other Paragons. They respect you. Reign fears you more than any other Paragon. To the point he had planned on ambushing you again here. I had to pull many strings to make him stand down.”
Fenrir Walker might be the only person in the world to make Reign stand down. “I had been expecting him to arrive,” I admitted.
Fenrir smirked. “You’re welcome for keeping you out of jail.”
I shrugged. “I didn�
��t break any laws today.”
“Like that would have stopped Reign, and you know it. Just talk to them for me. Make my daughter see reason. See that removing the Paragon’s powers will bring balance back to the world.”
“And if I don’t?”
Fenrir stopped walking and took me in. “If you don’t, I won’t keep Reign away, and I won’t be lenient with you. Belladonna and my team have found new and interesting ways to test the Paragons and remove their powers.”
He left me, and got into a waiting car.
24
Annoyed
Before I could even turn around, the comm system exploded in my head. So many voices babbled that I couldn’t even tell who was speaking or what they were saying.
“Slow down,” I said. My head was already spinning from the talk to Fenrir, and now with all of them talking I was lost. It was hard to think straight, and hear any one of them, let alone all of them. “You’re all hurting my head.”
“Sorry,” Fleur said. “I can’t believe my father.”
“I can,” Lola said.
“Seems just like what you said about him,” Felicity added.
It was no wonder I couldn’t keep track of it all. All three of them had been listening to the talk with Fenrir. I switched the direction I was walking. One of the biggest issues with him talking to me meant I had to take a roundabout way to get back to the place. There was no way I was going to lead his men to Fleur’s secret lair.
“It changes nothing,” I said. “He was just trying to figure out a way to get in my head.”
“He was,” Fleur said. “He wants to turn you against the other Paragons.”
There was no way in the world that I would turn against the Paragons. The only ones that I would fight were the ones that were working for my mother. The ones that backed Reign and Fenrir. My goal now was to turn all the Paragons against Reign, and against Fenrir.
I walked the streets talking to the women, and I was sure that I looked like a crazy man. Talking to myself with no visible phone or Bluetooth device. “We have to turn the Paragons against him.”
“For the most part,” Fleur said. “They are.”
Yet, it didn’t feel like it. It felt like too many of the superpowered people in the world were fighting against us. “We have to get them out and actively working to bring him down.”
“We are working on it,” Athena said. I hadn’t realized she was here too. Having all these voices popping into my head was a bit unnerving. This was going to be my least favorite method of contact. At least it was technology and not a psychic doing it. That meant I could take the earbud out.
“Not fast enough,” I said. “That man had a determined look on him. One that spoke of not giving up. He won’t go down without a fight.”
“We really don’t want a direct fight with my father.” Fleur’s voice sounded strained and tired. “We can’t win that way. No matter how many Paragons we have. My father has the best technology in the world. You saw the mecha suits, and who knows what he and that Belladonna are working on.”
It was true that those two could cook up some pretty nasty anti-Paragon stuff. That was a terrifying thought, and one I didn’t want.
“Let’s take her out,” Felicity said. Her voice had an edge to it. She really hated the woman, and I still didn’t know why. It might be time to bite that bullet and ask instead of waiting for her to tell me.
If it was this personal, we all needed to know. To understand what was going on, to make sure Felicity was safe, and that we were too.
It was time to change the subject. I didn’t care how secure these comm devices were, we were taking a risk being here. “Can one of you pick me up and take me for a wild goose chase ride?”
“On my way,” Fleur said
For the first part of the drive back we rode in silence. I wanted to talk to her about her father, but she needed to be willing to talk. If anyone knew about father and mother issues it was me. Mine were some of the worst in history.
Taking a very roundabout way back to the secret lair allowed for plenty of time to talk. Fleur had a look of deep contemplation on her face. She had heard her father talk the whole time.
“My dad is a piece of shit,” Fleur said. Anger filled her voice, and her lips quivered with her fist clenching. I felt for her, and completely understood; it was my own mother that was behind all of this. Hera was a terrible, vile woman. Much like Fenrir was, and both needed to be taken out, and put into prison.
“I know, but in his strange way he cares about you.”
“I guess so,” she said. “But that doesn’t make what he is doing right.”
“Not even remotely,” I said. “He is a bad parent, but he still cares. He has twisted the world around in his head.”
She nodded. “He really has. Thinking that I just going to give up and let him take my powers away.”
That was the crux of the matter. It was clear that he thought she would be fine with that, and wanted to do it sooner rather than later. There was no way she would allow him to do that. No way she would even think about it, and Fenrir wanted it more than anything. I could see it in his eyes.
“Can I ask about your mother?” I had a feeling that might be part of the issue.
“She died,” Fleur said. “A long time ago.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “It must have impacted you all.”
She nodded. “It might be part of why my father hates Paragons.”
“I thought as much,” I said. “Did one kill her?”
“No,” Fleur said. “As you know the powers of Paragons are wide ranging.”
That was an understatement. I doubted that I would ever see the full display of all the variety of powers that they held. In many ways the Paragons were more impressive than the Gods. Most of us had similar skills and powers. Nothing like the variety found here. That might be part of why dear Mother wanted them dead, and why Zeus was so scared of Earth now.
“I noticed.”
“Well, some can heal others. No major illnesses or injuries, but still they can heal.”
That would be an interesting power to have. “I take it one refused to heal your mother.”
“It isn’t so much they refused, but they just couldn’t heal her. Like I said, their powers are limited, and some illnesses are just too much for them.”
“I see.”
“My mother had cancer, and no Paragon to date has cured that.”
“And they might never be able to,” I said.
“No. Not everything can be fixed with superpowers.”
That was the truth, and we let that hang in the air. Her father had twisted the death of his wife and let that consume him. I understood the pain of losing people who were close and loved. What I didn’t understand was using that and twisting it into hate.
The man had crossed a line and needed to be stopped.
25
Bored
The next several days were hard and tedious. To make matters worse, no progress was made at all. Jose emailed me a few times, but the Third Street Dragons couldn’t find a lead. I needed them to make the connection between the robbery and the gang.
I was leaving my room and heading to the main area. Lola had messaged me to say that they had news on Stefan.
Rushing to the main area to meet the rest of the team, I was happy. I was hoping that Reign had given up his insistence that we couldn’t talk to Stefan. We were technically still working the Broadway job, and he was our only lead. It was our right to talk to the man, but Reign had been stonewalling us for days.
I was the last to arrive in the area. Lola was having an animated conversation with Athena. That was something I wasn’t sure I liked or not. Lola and Athena had turned into bosom buddies, and it was a strange thing. Sure, they had worked several days together to fight Elric. That must have created a bond between them.
Those days were done since Elric had seen us all, minus Lola. There was no way in hell I would let her out on her own. She
didn’t have any sort of combat training. No martial art skills to speak of. Not that she couldn’t defend herself, but her defense was from the computer.
“I’m telling you,” Athena said. “He ran away like a scared little girl.”
“I don’t believe it,” Lola said.
“Please tell me you weren’t talking about me,” I said. There weren’t many times I ran from a fight. Well, until recently that was. It felt like I was constantly doing that now.
“Maybe,” Athena said with a teasing tone, and I knew they must have been. “About time you showed up.”
“It didn’t take me that long,” I said. “Lola only messaged me a few minutes ago.”
Fleur and Felicity had been over in the section that was dedicated to working out. The place had a few areas for training. This was not the best one, but Fleur liked to work out and be close to the action. Lola created most of the action so she was here a lot.
“McGarrett called,” Lola said. “Reign had been using all his means to block us, but the mayor stepped in. Told him he had to let us.”
The mayor was a good woman, and I liked her. She didn’t want Reign here but was forced to deal with him since the governor and the president both respected the man and asked him to look into the Eris situation.
Part of me had to wonder if one or both of those men had ties to dear old mother. There was a chance she had them under her little pinky as well. That sent a chill through me and made me shake.
“A lot like that,” Athena said. She and Lola were looking at me. Both giggled.
“Anyway,” I said. “When can we see him?”
“Lots of limitations on the visit,” Lola said. “Reign won’t let all of the team go. Only two members.”
I groaned. “Why?”
“Fear that we might be working with him, or some other bull.”
I nodded.
