by Lucas Flint
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The next day, I biked early in the morning to Barriers’ office. I biked slower than usual, mostly because I was still tired from having gotten up so early on a Saturday morning, although the coffee I’d had before leaving the house did wake me up a little. I was also not very excited about going to work for Barriers. He agreed to pay me the original rate he offered me when I first met him, which I suppose was something to be happy about, but I still didn’t like him personally all that much. But I told myself that I wouldn’t have to work for him forever. Just long enough to save up for a car of my own, like when I worked for Rubberman.
I also thought it was strange how he answered the phone so promptly yesterday when I called him to ask for a job. His office had looked like a mess, yet he answered the phone as if he had been sitting there waiting for me to call him. Of course, most people were usually prompt about answering their phones, but it felt like Barriers had been expecting me to call him and ask to work for him. I shook my head; it wasn’t worth worrying about. What mattered was that I was going to go work for him. I didn’t know what to expect or how similar or different it would be from working for Rubberman, but if Barriers was as lazy as I suspected he was, then I might not have to work very hard today.
That meant I would be paid more for less work. That should have made me happy, but it didn’t and I wasn’t sure why.
When I reached the office building, the parking lot was as empty as usual, except for Barriers’ car, which was parked where it had been yesterday. Dismounting my bike, I realized that there wasn’t a bike rack anywhere for me to chain up my bike. This part of the city was not particularly crime-ridden, but I still didn’t feel safe leaving my bike out here where anyone could get it. I leaned my bike against Barriers’ car on the side that was not visible from the street. It wasn’t the most secure way to park my bike, but it would have to do for now. Maybe I’d ask Barriers about installing a bike rack outside the office when I clocked in for work.
Yawning, I turned around to enter the office when, without warning, my phone started ringing in my pocket. Surprised, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and looked at who was calling. Rubberman’s name and number were displayed on the phone. I’d forgotten that Rubberman still had my number, even though I wasn’t working for him anymore.
I nearly answered it, mostly out of habit, but before my finger hit the ‘ANSWER’ button, I stopped and remembered my argument with Rubberman yesterday. I decided that, because I didn’t work for him anymore, I didn’t need to answer Rubberman’s calls, so I hit the ‘CANCEL’ button and my phone stopped ringing. I briefly wondered what could have been so important that Rubberman tried to call me so early in the morning, but then I dismissed it as nothing more than Rubberman’s own conspiracy theories. Or maybe he had accidentally dialed me on his phone and didn’t even realize it.
Regardless, I dropped my phone back into my pocket and walked up to the office door, my backpack containing my costume slung over my shoulder. I stopped in front of the door, hesitating for a split second, before I opened it and entered.
The office lobby looked much the same as it had the day before. The biggest difference was that it smelled like fresh coffee, a scent which came from the foam coffee cups sitting in Barriers’ cubicle. Barriers himself was at his desk in the cubicle, typing on his computer, occasionally sipping his coffee. I had no idea how long Barriers had been awake, but based on how quickly he typed, I realized he must have had a lot of coffee.
“Uh, hello?” I said. “Barriers, sir?”
Barriers looked over his shoulder at me suddenly. “Oh, Beams, there you are! I almost forgot you were coming into work today. Are you ready to start working for me?”
I nodded. “Yeah. What are we going to do today? Are you going to show me around your office or something?”
“There’s no need for that,” said Barriers, gesturing around the office. “My base isn’t very fancy, as you can tell. This is pretty much what Munroe Acquisitions gave me. Not much more to see than this, honestly.”
I frowned and looked around. I couldn’t help but compare it to the Elastic Cave, which was so much bigger and better and, well, cleaner than this small office space. I supposed that the size of the base didn’t matter, because you could fight crime no matter what kind of base you had. Still, despite the fact that I was being paid more by Barriers than I had under Rubberman, I could not help but feel as though this was a distinct step down from my previous job.
“So, how do you keep track of criminal or supervillain activity around the city?” I asked, looking at Barriers again. “Do you track it on your computer or something?”
Barriers shrugged. “I just wait for the police to call me and let me know if they need help. Keeping track of all those news sites and newspapers for reports of criminal activity is not a good way to spend my time. It’s more efficient this way, you see.”
My frown deepened. Rubberman always used to emphasize the importance of keeping on top of criminal or supervillain activity in Golden City. That way, you could react quickly before the criminal or supervillain in question caused too much damage. I remember asking him why he didn’t just wait for the police to call us and he told me it was because by the time the police called for his help, it was usually too late and there was always more cleaning up to do afterward than if he had dealt with the problem early. That seemed like a better way to deal with crime than Barriers’ way, but I did not say that aloud.
“Besides, I never deal with small or petty crime,” said Barriers. “My focus is, and always has been, on real villains or criminals who pose a bigger threat to the city than to one or two people.”
“You mean the kind of criminals who would get you a lot of media coverage,” I said, remembering what Rubberman had told me about Barriers’ business practices.
Barriers’ eyes narrowed through the eye holes of his helmet. “Why, that’s just a bonus. I care about saving the people just as much as Rubberman. We simply disagree on how to approach the issue, that’s all. Perhaps Rubberman never told you, but superheroes often do have reasonable disagreements on how best to handle crime and other aspects of the business, you know.”
I knew that already, but I nodded anyway. “So what will I be doing today?”
Barriers grabbed an empty thermos off the desk next to his computer monitor and held it out to me. “Fetching my coffee, of course.”
I stared at his thermos in disbelief. “What?”
“I need my thermos refilled,” said Barriers. “There’s a convenience store just down the street which has great coffee and offers a discount to superheroes. They charge half for their coffee if you come with your own thermos, so I always make sure to bring my thermos whenever I stop by.”
“So you basically just need me to refill your coffee, then.”
“Correct,” said Barriers. “You don’t sound very excited about that.”
I shrugged. “It’s just that I thought we might go and fight some crime or something like that.”
Barriers chuckled. “Ah, not yet. Today is going to be a slow day and I don’t expect to fight any criminals as a result. I will probably just have you run various little errands for me around the office or around town, the small things I just can’t be bothered to do. I believe in the Pareto Principle, so I tend to focus on the twenty percent which will give me the eighty percent of rewards for my efforts.”
“And what is that twenty percent?”
“Contacting licensing companies to make merchandising deals, for one,” said Barriers. “Lesson number one of working for me: Always be on the lookout for ways to increase your bottom line. If your revenues aren’t growing in this business, then they’re shrinking, and if they’re shrinking, you can expect to be out of this business before you even know it.”
I nodded and took Barriers’ thermos, but then a question occurred to me and I asked, “But don’t you technically work for Munroe Acquisitions? Shouldn’t they be handling the licensin
g side of things, because they technically own the Barriers brand and all?”
Barriers rubbed the back of his neck, as if slightly embarrassed. “Well, Sasha has given me a lot of autonomy in how I run my business. She knows that I built this brand myself years ago and trusts me to maintain it. Besides, I enjoy making these deals. It’s quite fun, especially when I see the money land in my bank account.”
I nodded and looked at Barriers’ computer screen. Instead of seeing an email exchange with a merchandising company, however, I saw what appeared to be some sort of online game. It looked like solitaire, but before I could get a close look at it, Barriers closed the window.
“It isn’t your job to monitor what I am doing on my computer,” said Barriers in a cold tone. He gestured at me with a shooing gesture. “Now go and get my coffee. My thermos won’t refill itself, after all.”
I suspected that Barriers wasn’t working nearly as hard as he pretended to, but given how Barriers was the boss and I wasn’t, I just shrugged and turned to leave. I got only a few steps from Barriers’ cubicle before a sudden ringing noise made me stop and look over my shoulder. It was Barriers’ phone, which Barriers was searching for among the junk on his desk. He finally found it underneath a pile of papers and, pulling it out, held it up to the side of his helmet where his ear probably was and said, “This is Barriers. Who do I have the pleasure of speaking to?”
I didn’t hear what the person on the other end was saying, but I thought I caught a hint of triumph in Barriers’ eyes.
But it must have just been my imagination, because Barriers’ eyes went back to normal and he said, “Yes, understood. We will be there immediately.”
Barriers clicked his phone off and looked at me. “You’re in luck, Beams. The police just called us to deal with a hostage situation downtown. Quick, to the Barriermobile!”
Barriers jumped out of his chair and rushed out of his cubicle, nearly knocking me over in the process. Surprised by his sudden change in demeanor, I nonetheless followed, tossing aside the empty thermos as I ran to keep up with him. I couldn’t imagine why Barriers was so eager to save these hostages all of a sudden, but I realized that I liked this version of Barriers better than the one I’d been talking to recently. It reminded me of how Rubberman was always so eager to protect the innocent and stop criminals who threatened their lives. Maybe Barriers was a better superhero than I thought.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The Barriermobile was a pretty fancy car, I gotta admit, with large, comfy seats, an engine that purred like a cat, and wheels which were so soft that the car felt more like it was hovering above the street instead of rolling across it.
Yet it was noticeably slower than the Rubbermobile; at least, it felt that way. Maybe I was just so anxious to get to the hostage situation, but it sure seemed like the Barriermobile was not moving as fast as I would have liked. It didn’t help that Barriers didn’t seem to know the layout of Golden City at all. We passed several shortcuts we could have used to half our arrival time, but every time I tried pointing them out, Barriers would just tell me to be quiet because he was driving. As a result, I kept my mouth shut for most of the trip, but I couldn’t stop thinking about how much time it was taking for us to get to the hostage situation.
Barriers didn’t seem even remotely in a hurry. At first, I thought it was because he was so confident that we’d get there in time to save the hostages that he didn’t see any point in panicking or worrying, but the more I observed him, the more I realized that he felt no alarm at all. It was like we were going to the grocery store or something. That seemed like exactly the wrong attitude to have when it came to dealing with a hostage situation, but again, I said nothing, because I knew Barriers wouldn’t listen to me. That didn’t stop me from thinking about how different Rubberman was from Barriers. While Rubberman certainly wouldn’t be panicking in this situation, he wouldn’t be acting as if he had all the time in the world to get there, either.
We arrived at the scene of the hostage situation about ten minutes after we left the office, which seemed like too long to me and made me worry that the hostages might already be dead. The hostage situation was happening at a restaurant in downtown Golden City, which was obvious by all of the police cars and officers blocking off the street from both ends. The police were standing around the entrance to a local burger joint called Jim’s Burgers, a restaurant I’d visited a few times in the past, though not recently due to the fact that its location wasn’t on my usual routes to school. Jim’s Burgers was well-known for its delicious burgers and fries, but today, I didn’t see any customers entering or exiting the establishment. Through the storefront windows, I caught a glimpse of a man with a gun standing in front of a door, while other armed men stood at various points in the restaurant eating area that made it impossible for anyone to enter without being seen and gunned down. I couldn’t tell who these men worked for or if they were just on their own. Regardless, they definitely looked dangerous.
The police were not the only people on the street. Reporters from local news stations also stood just outside the police barricade, either jabbering on their phones or to the camera men filming the scene, describing the current status of the hostage situation and what the police were doing. I was amazed at how many reporters had shown up so quickly. Then again, reporters in this city were always on the move, so I probably shouldn’t have been so surprised to see them here.
As soon as Barriers and I got out of the Barriermobile, one of the police officers ran up to us. I recognized him as Chief Williams, the police chief of the Golden City Police Department, mostly because he and Rubberman were on good terms with each other. Now that I thought about it, I didn’t see Rubberman anywhere, which was odd because he was usually on top of these sort of situations. Maybe he considered hacking those stolen files more important than saving innocent lives from a bunch of psychos.
“Barriers!” said Chief Williams as he came to a stop before us. “I am so glad you came. The situation is getting worse and worse by the minute and we’re unable to enter the building and save the hostages.”
“Never fear, chief,” said Barriers in the fakest superhero voice I’d ever heard. “My new sidekick and I are here to save the day. We shall defeat these villains and rescue the innocent people who they have fiendishly taken hostage.”
“New sidekick?” Chief Williams repeated. He looked down at me and his eyes widened in surprise. “Beams? I thought you were Rubberman’s sidekick. What are you doing here with Barriers?”
“Change of employment,” said Barriers without giving me a chance to speak. “It doesn’t matter. Brief us on the situation.”
“Ah, yes, of course,” said Chief Williams, although he glanced at me one more time anyway as if Barriers’ short explanation didn’t make sense to him. “About twenty minutes ago, a group of armed men entered Jim’s Burgers and held all of the customers hostage. They are demanding a million dollars in cash for the hostages.”
“How many hostages are we talking about here?” asked Barriers.
“Ten,” Chief Williams said. “And about five armed men. They appear to be members of the Three Fingers crime gang. You’ve heard of them, of course.”
“Of course,” said Barriers. “What have you and your men done to save the hostages?”
“Not much, I’m afraid,” said Chief Williams with a sigh. “The Three Fingers have all of the exits and entrances covered. Anyone who tries to go through the front or back door will get their bodies riddled with bullets. Because of the way the building is designed, we can’t break in through any of the windows, either. All we’ve been able to do is surround the restaurant and ensure that the Three Fingers don’t get away. Unfortunately, that also means that the hostages are stuck in there with them.”
“I see,” said Barriers, although he didn’t seem to be paying attention. “Yes, this is a serious situation indeed.”
That seemed like an odd thing to say until I noticed Barriers was looking at the report
ers. In particular, he was focused on a young, pretty girl with blonde hair and a rather large chest who seemed to be with Channel Nine News, based on the logo on the side of the camera filming her.
“Uh, Barriers?” I said, tugging his arm. “How are we going to save the hostages?”
“Hmm?” said Barriers, looking at me. “Oh, yes, that. Hold on a moment. I need to do something.”
Barriers walked away from me and Chief Williams over to the reporter. Confused, I just stood there, watching as Barriers approached the reporter with all the grace of a panther sneaking up on prey, because I didn’t know if I should join him or not.
The reporter must have noticed him, because she suddenly looked over shoulder at him. It was strange, but a look of relief seemed to come over her features. Maybe she was just happy that a superhero had finally shown up to save the day or maybe she was just getting bored of talking to the camera.
In any event, the reporter turned back to the camera and said, in a voice I could hear from the Barriermobile, “This is Jenna Marbles of Channel Nine News. I am currently in downtown Golden City, covering the Three Fingers hostage situation. While police have been unable to rescue the hostages, a superhero has just shown up to help, and he’s not who you think he is.”
The reporter turned to Barriers, who stood next to her like he was always on TV, and, holding out her microphone to him, she said, “Hello there, Mr. Superhero! Would you mind introducing yourself to our audience? Most of our viewers are familiar with Rubberman, but I don’t think most know who you are.”
“My name is Barriers,” said Barriers, still in that fake superhero voice. He had to bend over slightly to speak into her mic. “I’m Golden City’s newest superhero and I am here to save the day. When I heard about this terrible hostage situation, I came over as fast as I could. It looks like I got here just in the nick of time.”
“Wonderful!” said Jenna in a bright tone. “Can you tell us how you intend to rescue the hostages, Mr. Barriers?”
