by Brandy Gaye
Three days later, Darrin noticed a drastic change in the dives he visited. The lowlifes who had been excited about the chaos were now dreading things like jaywalking. Darrin had to hand it to Victor. He didn't mess around. The city had to convert the old city hospital into a detention center. Retired cops and war veterans volunteered to watch over it. And to top it all off a new face appeared everywhere. Maurice W. Lock was running for District Attorney. He'd grown up in the city and was behind "Captain" 100%.
Some of the older crooks seemed to remember Maurice. He'd been on the city council and was a force for the greater good. Darrin overheard stories of how this Maurice supported the super heroes against the trend. The city was loving Captain and loving Maurice for his avid support. It didn't take much for Darrin to figure out that Maurice was the 'friend' that Victor had gone to stay with.
Maurice did have competition, however. A man by the name of Tate was also running for D.A. While the slot of Mayor had been filled by Suna Bombay; she had been deputy mayor and well liked, the position of D.A. remained a position that was voted on by the people. Suna had already come out in favor of Maurice, much to Tate's displeasure, but she was an advocate of super heroes. Unfortunately, it would take more than just her sayso to reenact their legal status. Tate and Maurice were friendly at debates, they'd been old friends but had radically different views on the super hero/villain front. Tate had been head of the City Council since anyone could remember. The city liked him, but with all the recent crimewaves, change was a viable option. Maurice had worked with Tate on the council for many years and his promises of peace and justice were received well. Tate's speeches about vigilantism being just another force of evil were also taken to heart. Many people didn't like the idea of Captain anymore than they liked Steam or The Mob Boss. Then again, some people just hated everything. Darrin could relate.
"The reason we have these super villains in the first place," Tate exclaimed, "is because we have super heroes. Super Heroes make villains."
"That's absurd, Tate, and you know it," Maurice repeated over and over again. This city banned heroes ten years ago and crime has only gotten worse."
"But we haven't had any new super villains," Tate reminded him. And it was true. Almost.
"What about Steam?" Maurice said.
"Steam is a nuisance at best. Harmless to the people. He hasn't hurt anyone. In fact, not that I'm condoning it, but we think he actually gives all the money he steals away. Isn't that ridiculous?"
Darrin's ears perked up. Maybe this Tate guy wasn't all bad after all.
"He still needs to be caught, mind you. But he's not out to take over the world."
"So you excuse super villains based on their damage potential?" Maury argued.
"Common sense dictates so."
Tate was losing the battle as the crime dwindled. Captain had instilled a long overdue return of fear into the crime community. Darrin laid low, still. He didn't want to give Victor a chance to make him yet another example of how wonderful he was.
Victor, meanwhile, made his own headline across the country. Captain had stood up to the law in a way that none of the other heroes had dare. When cities posted limits on heroes, the heroes obeyed them, generally. Captain had disregarded everything and cleaned up his city practically overnight. Many of the original and older heroes stepped up and applauded him while some poo pooed his disrespect for the governmental laws. Either way, his friend Sheila at channel 7 had accidentally renamed him and it had stuck.
"Looks like our Captain has become Captain Famous," she quipped.
Being a bit of a techno geek, Darrin had doohickeys and thingamabobs at his disposal. Sometimes he liked to break into his targets the old fashioned way just to throw the authorities off. He wore his hearing amplifiers every time he was in one of the bars and today, he caught some info. The Mob Boss finally showed. He was a large man; not overweight, but nearly seven feet tall and proportionately thick. He had a full head of dark hair and one glass eye, blue to match his natural color, that was almost perfect but off enough to make it hard not to stare. He always wore bright red suits with black dress shirts and wild ties. The door to this establishment had been modified so he didn't have to duck to come through it. He sat at his normal seat at the bar and the attractive bartender poured him his usual scotch; a cheap house brand that he always favored.
"When I catch that maniac who blew up that ball, I'm going to see that he never walks again," said The Mob Boss.
Cat, the bartender, Darrin had never seen another one in here, nodded. She appropriately wore fuzzy cat ears clipped to her hair. She had several different colors. Darrin wasn't sure why the costume. The bar was called Lross's. Maybe that was some foreign word for cat. "It's been bad for business for sure," Cat said. "No work for henchmen, no robberies equals no money to spend on boos. Captain wouldn't be on a warpath I think. It's personal for him."
"Yes. Well, I hope he does catch the sonofa. A lot of the politicians I did business with, the dirty cops, all gone. A small chunk of my empire flushed. At least I learned my lesson. Never underestimate a mad scientist."
Cat poured herself a Shirley Temple-Darrin had never seen her drink alcohol. And he did like to see her. The Mob Boss wasn't the only reason he'd frequented this bar. Cat had even smiled at him once or twice. She knew his drink now and poured him a gin and tonic practically before he'd sat down. She even put a cherry in it. It was one of the few things that made him feel warm and fuzzy inside.
Cat clinked glasses with The Boss.
"Ironic, though," Cat mused. "That Tate fellow going on about how heroes create villains. And yet, Captain came out after the villain."
"Yes, well, we'll deal with him when the time comes. I am not happy, Kitty. Not happy at all."
Darrin had also noticed that The Mob Boss was the only one who could call the bartender Kitty. The last guy that did it had a sawed off shotgun shoved in his face.
The longest three days of Victor's life came to a close when he finally decided to pay Sam a visit. She had given him her number but he hadn't ever thought to give her his at Maury's. She had some sort of issue. Didn't everyone? He had hoped some space and time might help so he stayed away but enough was enough. His feelings hadn't changed and he knew she liked him too. How could she not?
Stepping up to her door, he listened to see if she was alone. Of course Darrin was there. Ugh.
"And then he said he loved me," Sam told Darrin.
Darrin heaved an exaggerated sigh.
"And the next morning he fixed me breakfast!"
"Doofus cooks! How horrible!" Darrin feigned shock.
"But it was everything I like. French toast, apple juice; I didn't have any groceries since you eat them all so fast! He picked out all my favorites! I just kind of freaked out and now he hasn't even called."
"What do you mean freak out?"
"I threw him against a wall."
Darrin laughed.
"It's not funny!"
Okay, so Vic knew listening in wasn't gentlemanly or moral or even nice but he couldn't stop.
Darrin stopped chuckling and went on. "Look, the guy is a wanker with a capital doofus, but he's not Robert. I don't like him, but I don't like anybody so I'm not the one you should be looking to for an opinion."
"Darrin..."
Her unbiological brother sighed. "You've done worse. And by worse, I mean Robert. Can't get much worse than that. So don't get too excited. This is not an endorsement."
Victor finally just knocked. If Sam was going to divulge her past to him, he'd rather hear it from her because she actually wanted to tell him. As for Darrin's presence, might as well face them both. Wanker with a capital doofus, huh? Victor looked forward to the day when he'd catch Darrin in the act.
Samantha opened the door meekly after spying through the peephole. "Hi."
Vic smiled his award winning grin which weakened Sam's knees. "Hey."
Sam opened the door wider and gestured him in. He dipped his head towards Darrin who
rolled his eyes.
Sam stepped between them. "We were actually just talking about you."
"I'm kind of a hot topic right now."
"No kidding, Captain Famous," Sam chuckled.
Darrin groaned. "As if his ego could get any bigger."
"Hey, I'm just doing the only thing I can do anymore. What are you doing? Planning the next heist?"
"Maybe I am. Everyone's guard's down at the moment with your hijacking every litterer and red light runner to the clink."
Sam tsked him.
"Whatever," Darrin said, "I was actually passing along a bit of news to Sam to give to you if you want it, Captain Doofus."
Vic raised his eyebrows. "Really? And it's not some sort of setup?"
Darrin rolled his eyes yet again. It was involuntary around this guy. "Look, whatever you have against me is your problem. But Sammy here is what's important and I'll do whatever it takes to make her happy. Even if it's tolerating you. The Mob Boss wants the nutcase who blew up the ball, too. So he had nothing to do with it. You might want to pay him a visit."
"WORK with The Mob Boss? Are you crazy? Stupid question. I apologize."
"Look, it's what I heard. Take it or leave it."
"This does not make up for not saying anything in the first place."
"And the grudge holding champion is, DING DING DING!" Darrin gestured to Victor.
Samantha spoke up. "Maybe it is a good idea. Keep your enemies closer and all that."
Darrin shrugged. "Do whatever. I'll be in my usual place, Sam, if you need me." Darrin walked past Vic and stopped.
"If you hurt her, I don't care how indestructible you think you are, I will burn you."
Darrin exited and slammed the door behind him.
"He's so pleasant," Victor mused. "I can see why you keep him around."
"You didn't call me," Sam said.
"You threw me into a wall. Which, by the way, actually hurt. Every time you toss me around it hurts. Your energy must dampen my invulnerability."
"Good," she tried not to smile. "That's what you get for not leaving me any way to get in touch with you. You just disappeared except for the TV."
"Sorry. For a dead guy, I have a lot going on."
"Yes. Captain Famous has become quite cozy with Sheila Gibbs the past few days."
"Jealous?"
She adopted Victor's bluntness for the occasion. "Ya."
"Good." He did smile. "But there's nothing going on between me and Sheila. I almost dated her awhile back but she's a reporter. Couldn't trust her."
Samantha headed into the kitchen to put on some tea. Vic followed.
"I'm sorry I freaked out," she said as she pulled the tea bags from the cupboard.
"Ya, well, I didn't really mean for that to come out the way it did. But it doesn't mean I didn't mean it."
She didn't turn to face him as he continued.
"Even before all this happened, that night I busted into your house and saw you put your little hands up, I knew there was something good here. And it was just kind of serendipitous considering that now, you're one of two people I have left."
She finally did turn and fought back tears. She'd been so selfish. She kept forgetting that his entire world had changed-he had no one.
"I don't trust myself anymore. My emotions, I mean. It's a long story but the point is that I got hurt. It was my fault, really. But you're the first guy in a long while to make me believe in myself again. Does that make sense?"
"No. Not really." He hoped she would elaborate on whatever douchnozzle hurt her but she didn't and he didn't push it.
She just laughed it off and turned the stove on to heat the water. "You're nothing if not forthright."
He shrugged. "I don't see the need to sugarcoat or lie. Except about, well, you know. Have to kind of lie about that."
Samantha switched gears and took a seat at the kitchen table. "Victor, I know this is going to sound psychiatrish, but you can talk to me, you know. It's kind of what I do. I can't fathom what you must be going through. I keep forgetting that you lost your whole family. You hide very well behind a wall of self confidence. How are you?"
He let his guard down which never ceased to amaze Sam. It was so visible when he went from tough guy to victim. But he knew himself well. He didn't hesitate to tell things how they were. In actuality, his self confidence wasn't a mask or a wall, but a true part of who he was.
"I'll never talk to them again. It's so surreal when I think about it. It's only been a few days and plus, with you, I feel so good, I almost forget. But when I'm out there, taking down those degenerates, every one of them could be connected to what I lost. And I'm angry. And sad. Horrible. I feel horrible."
The only thing Sam had to reference to was when Darrin's biological father had died. They'd all been devastated. He'd been killed by a drunk driver who'd then never been caught.
"It will never get better, will it?" Victor asked.
Sam thought on losing Ken and it still hurt so badly, not even counting the injustice of his killer never being caught. "No. Time will scar it over but that piece of you is gone. And it can't ever be replaced."
The kettle whistled.
"That hot tea sounds good," he said.
She prepared it and they sat in silence at the table for nearly twenty minutes before she had to go to work. She made Victor promise he'd be here when she got back and he agreed easily.
