Different Strong [Book 2]

by Nat Kozinn

  My new bones are truly impressive. Somehow, none of them broke from the punch or the ensuing flight and crash landing. I’ve got some bad bruises and a small hemorrhage in one of my recently enlarged kidneys, but considering that punch would have liquefied the old me, I can’t complain. Getting some distance between me and the Strong-Woman is also a boon. I’ve got some time to think strategy.

  Obviously, she’s stronger than I am, but she’s also slower and clumsier, at least theoretically. They gave me access to The Beast’s file when I started working as an OEC agent. He managed to take down one of my fellow agents who was one of the strongest Differents that ever lived. They believe The Beast did it by using his superior speed and agility. That’s what I have to rely on. I suddenly wish I had allowed myself a few more days in rehab to work on my coordination, but here I am.

  Lisa comes around the corner and hurtles towards me. I stand my ground like a bullfighter staring down his prey. At the last second I juke to the left, leaving my foot out. She trips and smashes face first into one of the shelves, knocking it down and causing a domino effect which topples a few more rows.

  “Great, now I’m going to have to clean all that up,” Lisa says as she stands back up.

  “I’m not looking for a fight. Just give me a few minutes to search the warehouse. I don’t want to hurt you,” I plead.

  “Ha, ha. Good one, little man.”

  Lisa charges at me and throws a sloppy haymaker I duck under with ease. She left her whole right side exposed, and I pepper it with a dozen quick jabs and hooks. It feels like I’m hitting a brick wall, but she lets out a few grunts that let me know I’m hurting her, at least a little. She keeps throwing clumsy punches, and I keep dodging them and unleashing a flurry of counters. For every swing she takes, I answer with ten. I float and sting like Ali in his prime. I’m a butterfly mixed with a bee, mixed with a demon out of hell. I can tell she’s starting to tire.

  My victory starts to seem like an inevitability as I continue to wear her down. But then my inexperience with my new body comes back to bite me. I trip over my own two feet like a toddler who just learned to walk and still hasn’t mastered the process. Lisa doesn’t hesitate to exploit my folly. She lets loose with a hellacious kick, which punts me through the air like a football. I land at the base of one of the shelves.

  The force topples the shelf and a few containers crash down on top of me, shattering as they land. I end up buried under a mountain of rice. Why is there so much rice here?

  She really let me have it with that kick; she cracked one of my ribs. I guess my bones can break. I start directing my body to heal the bone. Now I need to dig myself out of this pile of rice.

  I start swimming upwards through the grains. It takes a few second of breast stroke to dig my top half out. As I’m trying to extricate my lower half, Lisa finds me. I can’t dodge her with my legs buried. She reaches down and grabs me, wrapping her arms around me in a vice grip. I flex my arms to get free, but it feels like I’m wrapped in Maceo Steel. I kick back with my legs, but without any leverage the blows have no force behind them.

  “That’s enough! I’m going to hold you here till I figure out what to do with you. Stop squirming or I’ll crush you like a bug,” Lisa yells in my ear.

  “Gavin, can you still turn your ears off!?” Ben yells from behind some shelves.

  “Who is that?” Lisa demands.

  “Yes, I can!” I yell back and start filling the tympanic cavity in my ear with fluid.

  “Good, do it!”

  “What is he talking about!?” Lisa demands.

  She keeps talking, but I can’t hear what she’s saying. A few seconds later, she lets me go. She drops to her knees, covering her ears with her hands. Ben has some sort of noise weapon and it worked.

  I don’t let the opportunity pass me by. I raise both my hands up over my head and bring them down as hard as I can right on the base of Lisa’s skull. The blow smashes her face into the floor, forcing her chin a few inches deep into the B-Crete. I roll her over. She’s still conscious, albeit barely. She looks like she isn’t going to be causing any more trouble. I drain the fluid out of my tympanic cavity and hear Ben walk up to us.

  “Thanks for the save, although I’m not sure what took you so long to get involved,” I say to him.

  “I’m the brains of this operation. You’re supposed to be the muscle. I didn’t want to step on your toes. I was saving that trick for an emergency, you’ll never guess where I got the idea,” Ben says.

  “Okay then Brains, any brilliant theories as to what this warehouse is? It sure doesn’t look like a prison.”

  “While you were engaged in your boxing match, I looked through some of the containers. There’s a whole lot of Slug fuel, WormLights, raw Manna, dried fruits and vegetables, B-Crete, and Maceo Steel beams and pipes of various sizes,” Ben says as he tries to catch his breath.

  “Did you find any sign of The Beast while you were searching?”

  Ben shakes his head no.

  “Great, so there’s basically what you’d expect to find in an Ultracorps warehouse. Congratulations. Brilliant detective work,” I say sarcastically.

  “Something doesn’t smell right. It doesn’t make sense to keep construction materials and food stored in the same place. Basic supply chain logistics teaches that it’s much more efficient to have specialized warehouses to distribute your goods, especially if your supplies come in bulk shipments like these do. If there’s anything Ultracorps loves, it’s efficiency. They own hundreds of warehouses around the Metro Area. Why store all this in one building? There are enough supplies to build and feed a village.”

  “I don’t know, and I don’t care. We didn’t break in here to solve the mystery of how Ultracorps supply chain logistics work. We need to get out of here, now. She might have called Nita or the police before we got into our brawl.”

  “Not yet. I need to know what this place is,” Ben says. He walks over to the dazed Strong-Woman and gets right in her face. “Tell me, what is this place? Why are there so many different supplies stored here? Did you see The Beast?”

  The dazed woman stares at him.

  “She’s probably deaf from your little sound weapon. Between that and the concussion I gave her, I don’t think she’s going to be giving any information.”

  Ben isn’t satisfied. He snaps his finger next to her ear and keeps repeating his questions.

  I get a think.Net alert. Linda is calling.

  >>>Gavin, how’s your recovery going?

  <<
  >>>I don’t want to rush you, but you might be running out of time. It looks like Billy the Kid is off the disabled list, and he’s making up for lost time. Three Differents were found dead outside of Ultracorps employee housing. I can’t imagine anyone else did that. Do you think you can get yourself out of the hospital soon?

  <<
  >>>You are? Why didn’t you tell me? What are you doing? Are you on Billy the Kid’s trail?

  <<
  >>>Something else? What could be more important than tracking down the man who killed your partner and my son? Wait, don’t tell me. I already know the answer. You’re going after The Beast.

  <<
  >>>Let me ask you Gavin, how many people has The Beast killed lately? I’m pretty sure the answer is zero. Meanwhile, Billy the Kid assassinated dozens of people and set off a bomb that killed hundreds. I thought the whole point of your little deal with the Devil that is Nita was so you could become strong enough to stop him. I should have known it was really part of your obsession with The Beast and Ben’s obsession with Nita. You two deserve each other. If you come to your senses, you can talk to me at my apartment.

  She ends the call to emphasize her point.

  “I don’t know what it’s for. They never told me. I stack the containers when they co
me in and guard the place. That’s it,” Lisa pleads.

  “You’re lying!” Ben screams.

  “Ben, that’s enough! She doesn’t know anything because there’s nothing to know. It’s a warehouse. I can’t believe I let you drag me here while there’s a serial killer on the loose who has access to explosives. I don’t suppose you did any more investigations into what’s happening with the bomb-making materials that Khan purchased?”

  Ben shakes his head no.

  “Of course not. Who cares how many people Billy the Kid kills if Nita isn’t involved, right? I’d be madder at you if I wasn’t guilty of the same crime myself with The Beast.”

  “Nita’s schemes are bigger than one killer. It’s going to affect the whole nation, maybe the world,” Ben says with complete conviction.

  “Maybe you’re right, but we aren’t stopping her tonight. Now maybe, just maybe, we can stop a serial killer and save the lives of some of our fellow Differents. Come on. We’re going to Linda’s place. If you don’t come I’m going to tell her you were too selfish to help me,” I say appealing to the quasi-mother son relationship he seems to have with her.

  “We can’t leave yet, I’m telling you, she knows something,” Ben says and looks right into the dazed Strong-Woman’s eyes.

  “And I’m telling you we’re leaving now. Do I need to carry you out?” I say and stand up to my full, extremely imposing height.

  29

  I give that to you my Chosen Sons: a blank slate. I give you a world that is waiting to be rebuilt in my glory.

  Chosen Sons: 58

  The Beast’s hand hurts. It is a funny thing. How can something hurt that no longer exists? There are all sorts of tubes going into his body. They are making him strong again. The Lord did not let him die. The Beast knew He would not. This was a test of The Beast’s faith. The Lord needed to know that The Beast would truly do anything the Lord asked of him, even give his own life. The Beast has proven he is the most loyal servant God could hope for. Whatever the Lord needs, he is happy to provide. Considering The Beast is still alive, there must be more to do. He prays to God and hopes He shares His vision for the future.

  >>>You are right my child, I am not finished with you.

  “Lord, I knew you wouldn’t let me die. I knew it was just test. I’m ready to keep servin’ you Lord. Just tell me what to do.”

  >>>I need you to heal and be patient, my child. The time for freedom will soon be at hand. My Chosen Sons will ascend to their proper place at the head of my table. I need you strong to enact my will on earth. To that end, some Forgotten Son servants are going to help you. Let the humans earn their salvation by aiding a Chosen Son.

  The door to The Beast’s room opens and humans in white lab coats come in. One of them is carrying a tray with a blade on it. The blade shimmers in the light, it is a Maceo Steel knife attached to a stump. A new divine hand for a Chosen Son. The Beast smiles.

  30

  Perhaps an entire editorial dedicated to me saying “I told you so” is poor form, but I’m indulging myself nevertheless. While the entire Metro Area celebrated “The Beast Slayer” and his heroic feats, I stood alone on an island. I maintained that laws are passed with good reason, and they should not be thrown aside when we decide we like a particular criminal. I warned that the OEC Field Office Program was a bad idea, and letting a criminal serve as law enforcement agent was an even worse idea, but my position was dismissed as mere fear mongering. Now, the Field Office Program is in shambles and being questioned nationwide. One agent is dead under mysterious circumstances, and the other has disappeared, escaping police custody in the process.

  “Some People Don’t Change” by Roberta Clemens, Los Angeles Times

  I fold my arms together as I step out of the stairwell, as it’s the only way I can fit through the doorway, and walk down the hall to Linda’s apartment. I pass by a large mirror and catch a glimpse of myself. Instead of myself, I see some sort of giant, hairless man with a stretched out version of my face. I’ve looked in the mirror and seen a different face before, back when I did my old man vigilante disguise and my fat-face thing, but this is a whole other level. It’s not just my face that’s foreign; it’s my entire body. I’m a living Kafka novel.

  “That must be a weird experience,” Ben says when he sees me staring at the mirror.

  “You’re telling me. My brain isn’t really accepting the visual information it’s receiving. I don’t feel like I’m looking at myself. I feel like the mirror is a window, and I’m really seeing a different person.”

  “I’d love to give you some advice, but I’ve got nothing. I’ve memorized several books on psychology, and none of them offer any insight on how to cope with growing into an entirely new person. You’re breaking new ground here. On the up side, if things ever die down you’d make a hell of a thesis project for some kid getting his psych doctorate.”

  “At least there’s that. Let’s keep moving,” I say.

  I shut down the various confused emotional centers of my brain and keep walking. I get to Linda’s door and knock. I hear her come to the door, but she doesn’t open it. She’s spying on me through the peephole. She’s got a view of my chest.

  “Can I help you?” she asks.

  I lean down so she can see my face through her peephole.

  “Hi, Linda.”

  “Gavin?! Is that you? Come in, come in,” she says and opens up her door so I can step inside. “My God, what happened to you?” It’s nice to know I still look enough like myself for her to recognize my face.

  “You don’t like the look?” I ask.

  “It’s impressive, no doubt about that, but I’ve never been one for muscles.”

  “Oh shucks, the whole reason I did it was to impress women. What a waste.”

  “Let’s not stand here in the hallway, come in you two. Can I get you guys anything?” Linda asks.

  “I’m starving pretty much all the time now. If you have any Manna Bars that would be great,” I say.

  “I can do better than that. I’ve got a whole pot of Meat Sauce in the cooler, but it’ll take a while to heat up,” Linda says with a satisfied smile. It makes her happy that I want her food.

  “Cold is fine,” I blurt out.

  “I’ll go get it. Have a seat in the living room. And it isn’t just the three of us. A friend is here,” Linda warns.

  “Captain Murphy?”

  “No, he hasn’t left his apartment since the office got shut down. Having one of his agents killed and the other go missing sent him into a bit of a tailspin. It’s someone you’ll be happier to see,” Linda says and winks.

  Linda has an unbelievable apartment. It’s huge. I can only imagine what the rent is, and when you add in the insurance Differents have to pay, it must cost a small fortune. I guess she made good money back when she was working for Ultracorps. It doesn’t hurt that she’s old enough not to have to pay any Section 26 debt. Her only COL Obligations are for the tiny bit of extra food she requires and the Different upkeep tax we all have to pay.

  I walk into the living room and see Maria standing there. My heart almost jumps out of my chest. I haven’t seen her since I shot her by accident. I knew she was alive, but there’s something different about seeing her with my own eyes.

  I run over and wrap my arms around her. She winces and pushes me off.

  “Easy, I’m still recovering,” she says.

  “Sorry, it’s great to see you… And sorry for the shooting you,” I say and look down to show my shame.

  “At least I don’t have to hear you brag about how good a shot you are anymore. It’s nice to see you Gavin. Although I’m not sure I’m seeing you.”

  “I underwent a procedure. It’s hard to explain.”

  “Don’t bother, I’m sure I wouldn’t understand the details. Linda told me enough. It sounds like I wasn’t the only one who spent the last few weeks in the hospital. Who’s your friend?” Maria asks, looking at Ben.

  “This is Ben. He’s be
en helping me with the investigation. He’s the one who figured out the link between Governor Khan and the bomb.”

  “M’lady,” Ben says with an awkward bow.

  Linda comes into the room with a big pot and a ladle.

  “Do you need a bowl?” she asks.

  I take the pot from her hands. “I’m good.” Linda shakes her head at my boorishness.

  All four of us sit down on chairs in the living room. I shovel ladlefuls of Meat Sauce into my mouth as we talk. It’s full of sugars, fats, and proteins; it’s just what I need.

  “So kids, what’s the plan?” Linda asks.

  I turn to Maria, “Did you get a chance to check out the most recent killings?”

  “Three Differents were shot outside of Ultracorps employee housing. Two were killed with small arms, and a Strong-Woman was killed with large caliber bullet. No witnesses,” Maria says.

  “Three at once, and at Ultracorps housing? It’s a big departure from the slow, methodical approach he was taking before. I’m worried that we’re running out of time before he does something big,” I say.

  “Okay, so what do we do? We don’t have any leads on his whereabouts,” Maria says.

  “That’s not true, there’s Governor Khan,” I say.

  “I’ll just bring him in for questioning,” Maria says with a laugh. “I’m sure I won’t have any trouble getting that warrant.” Maria waits for the rest of us to join in on the joke, but we’re all stone-faced.

  “I’m not suggesting we see a judge,” I reply.

  “You’re serious? What, we’re supposed to kidnap him? Haven’t you broken enough laws already? Have you lost your mind?” Maria asks.