I watched him walk out, right through the space Mike had been standing in. Pulling myself up from the bed, I stumbled back into the main living area.
Jessie, as usual, was at the computer terminal with yet another small stack of empty soda cans surrounding his feet. I made a mental note to discuss with him the imminent purchase of a trash can specifically for that area. At least he had been thoughtful enough to push them into a pseudo-pyramid.
“Right.” He spun around to face us, mumbling through a mouthful of rye, mustard and salami. “Josh is going to be at the airport in an hour. He says that right now there’s so many people freaking out that the airport’s not letting anyone go up other than the big airlines, but he’s managed to bribe us a space. I told him that we were good for it.” He dabbed at the edge of his mouth and licked the yellow sauce from his finger. “Flight corridors are all fucked up thanks to the alien ships, and most planes are staying on the ground so it’s a good bet that you won’t have any company. Maybe military, but they’ve got bigger things to worry about than a small plane probably trying to get some rich cats out of town.”
“Right. Everyone, pay attention. This is our battle plan. We’re going to jump about here.” I unrolled a map on the coffee table, narrowly missing knocking over two more empty cans of soda. “Sorry it’s not more precise, but we’re lucky we’re not dealing with a globe.” My finger traced the probable flight route. “I don’t want to put our pilot in any danger so we’re going to leave as soon as we get close enough for us to glide down.”
“Ah…” Peter put up his hand. He had changed out of the torn sweatshirt and battered track jacket into an old grey dress shirt that must have come out of David’s closet. “Glide?”
I picked up the nylon harness from the side of the couch. “We used this last time.” The thin loops hung in the air. “I can carry two on my back if need be and two holding hands, max.” An idea popped into my head. “Can I ask you to put out a call for help when we land?”
Peter replied, “I can do that, definitely.” He continued when I nodded, urging him on. “Most of them are going to be pretty scared, as you can guess. Domestic pets probably being left behind and wild ones just freaking out. If nothing else, I can try and calm them down enough to keep them from attacking anyone. And ask them if they want to help us out.”
“What’s your gig again?” Limox reached down to scratch his crotch, stopping himself at the last minute due to a scathing glare from May.
Peter shifted on the sofa, putting his hands under his knees. “I can talk to the animals, basically. I can’t order them around, but I can ask them for help.”
“And this is a superpower?” Limox swiveled around to stare at me. “Seriously?”
“We don’t exactly have the luxury of picking and choosing supers, if you haven’t noticed,” I snapped back. “Most of the best ones were killed either by the aliens or by their Guardians when they decided not to go fight and get killed.” I glanced at Hunter. “No offense intended.”
He raised a hand. “None taken.”
“Anyway…” Peter’s voice went up a notch in volume, taking back the conversation. “Anyway, my gig was or is to get the animals to attack at the same time as we did, a sort of menagerie show. Alan and me, I mean.” He swallowed loudly, blinking wildly to hold back the tears.
“So you’re talking lions, tigers and bears, oh my?” I kept going, not wanting to allow him to fall back into mourning for his lover. If I couldn’t do it for Mike, I sure as hell wasn’t going to let the kid snap and go there right now. Because if he did, then I’d be a helpless pile of jelly, and that wouldn’t be good for either of us. Or the world.
He chuckled. “Well, think more squirrels, dogs and cats. I can’t really get through to the bigger ones though I’ve tried. But they’re always eager to tell me what’s going on.”
“Okay, we can run with that.” I nodded. “Jessie, call us a cab. You, Hunter and David stay here and keep in contact as long as you can.” I got to my feet. “It goes without saying that if we don’t save Pittsburgh, we’re not coming back, right?”
“Damned suicide wish,” Limox grumbled, pushing past me to the bathroom. “Let me make one last pit stop.”
May walked over to Hunter. “I want you to come along.” She looked at me. “I’m not going without him.”
A hint of fear laced her voice, something I knew all too well. Flying solo wasn’t a habit encouraged by the Agency. And from what Hunter had told me I couldn’t blame her for latching onto him with both hands.
“What are you going to do while we’re trying to kick alien butt?” Crossing my arms, I waited for his response. “What do you usually do?”
“Cringe and hide?” His wide grin didn’t match my expression. His face took on a more serious tone. “I usually do coordination, to be honest. Work in the back and make sure no one’s crashing into each other.”
“He could die.” I stared at May. “This isn’t a game anymore. They’re not going to call off the bad guys and switch to a commercial if we screw up. And we’re not going to stop if he dies.”
“I know.” Her fingers dug into Hunter’s arm even tighter. That was going to leave marks. “But I need him with me.”
Shaking my head, I locked eyes with Hunter. “You good with this?”
“Yeah.” He smiled, patting May’s arm softly. “I’m good. As long as you don’t mind me tagging along for the ride down.”
“Just…just get out of the way. And keep out of the way. Please.” I gave May my most serious look. “And you’re responsible for him. Thank God he’s at least housebroken.”
She let out a giggle, tugging her Guardian away before he could respond.
Peter stood up, brushing imaginary lint from his pants. He eyed the harness I still held in my hand. “I’ve never flown before.” His eyes held a bit of fear along with more than a whit of curiosity and eagerness. “I mean, I’ve looked through bird eyes but I haven’t ever done it. Without a plane, I mean.”
“It’s cool.” I laughed in spite of myself. “Trust me, once you fly with me you won’t want to take a plane ever again.”
He grinned back, a little less stress in his shoulders. “Sounds cool.”
May walked over, taking Peter’s hand. “Trust me, you’ll love it. I wouldn’t trust anyone else with my life more than Jo.” The relief in both their eyes calmed the butterflies in my stomach.
The two supers headed down the stairs. David let out a deep sigh, shaking his head as he watched them go. “I know you want to bring them all back, but you make sure you bring yourself back first, hmm?” He pulled me into a deep hug, tears in his eyes. “Just be careful. Don’t be a hero.”
I coughed away the urge to cry. “Silly, that’s what I do.”
He sniffled. “Yeah, I know. Just had to say it. Let me go call a cab for you.” David walked away, his shoulders slumped.
“I’ll be here.” Jessie moved to stand in front of me, his hands stuck in the back pockets of his jeans. “We’ll keep the home fires burning.” He paused, seeing my surprised expression. “What, isn’t that what I’m supposed to say?”
“Yep.” I laughed, yanking him off his feet and into a surprise hug. I felt a shudder go through his body, and his eyes were reddening as we pulled apart. “Just be careful. There’s always a chance that the aliens or the Agency might figure out who and where you are—if that happens you two get out of here and go underground. I know you have the connections. We’ll find you if we have to. Just don’t take any chances.”
“Like you?” Jessie smirked.
“Shut up.” I pushed him away. He turned back to the bank of computer monitors, seating himself down at the keyboard. His hands reached up, reverting to his fingertip dance.
Hunter moved to block my way as I turned towards the stairs. His sad but serious expression pulled the air out of my lungs.
“Thanks. I know I’m a liability but it’ll keep May stable. She…she hasn’t really prepped for this,” h
e said. “She hasn’t done a lot of fighting, mostly scenarios that we’ve run through, so don’t expect a lot out of her.”
“I have to.” The steel in my voice surprised both of us. “There’s no one else. And she’s got a hell of a punch that I need.”
Hunter nodded. “Understood. Just try to remember that she’s not street-smart like you are. Or think you are.” The edges of his lips tugged upwards. “You’re one tough broad, Jo Tanis.”
“Yeah.” I put my hands on my hips, striking a pose. “And don’t you forget it.”
“I won’t.” Suddenly he was close, way too close and inside my personal space, his lips touching mine so lightly and so quickly that I thought for a second that I was still asleep. “Time to fly. I’ll be downstairs with the others.” Then he was gone.
I walked down the stairs, grabbing onto the railing for support, one hand over the GPS jammer. The fact that it was over my heart was just incidental, I figured.
Chapter Thirteen
The cab driver didn’t blink at carrying a grumpy middle-aged man who was still babbling about how it wasn’t his fault the plumbing sucked and that he needed fiber in his diet, thank you very much, or a young man who was so silent that at first glance you thought he was either heavily medicated or high on something. He didn’t flinch at the senior citizen who ignored the chubby man beside her and focused instead on whispering something to the gentleman on the other side including a recipe for banana bread that she was going to make as soon as they got back. And didn’t react to a woman sitting in the front seat beside him atop a forgotten clipboard that punched a hole in her ass and displaying a badly bitten lower lip. Even so I gave him a handsome tip when we arrived at the ferry down at the lakeshore, just in case.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Limox stared at the small island ferry waiting patiently for passengers.
I could understand his confusion. The Toronto Island Ferry happened to be one of the shortest ferry rides, if not the shortest, in the world. If you put three or four of the compact ferries end to end, you’d be able to just walk across the narrow waterway that allowed boaters to skirt around the islands and out into Lake Ontario. The ride itself took less time than it did for the ferry to load and unload, or at least that’s what it looked like.
“Can’t you just fly us over?” Limox’s voice grated in my ears.
“Hush!” I spun on him, eyes blazing. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but one of the things we’re trying to do is keep a low profile. Me flying you over to the airport is not going to do that. It may be a short hop, but we’re trying to not attract attention.”
My tone startled him into silence, his attention diverted to a stone on the ground he began kicking back and forth between his well-worn leather loafers.
“Let me go buy the tickets. Come on, Hunter.” May trotted off at a business-like pace to the small booth. Giving me a sheepish look, Hunter followed, his long strides catching up with her almost immediately.
Peter moved closer to me, staring up into the sky. “Going to be light soon.”
“The announcement has the alien attack on Pittsburgh starting at 6 a.m.” I scanned the horizon. “I can’t imagine the evacuation routes out of the city right now. Must be a madhouse.”
“Yeah,” Limox muttered. “At least they’re getting a chance to get the civilians out.” He glared at me, spotting my astonished look. “What? I can’t give a shit about the people?”
May reappeared, the small thin cardboard stubs in her hand. “We’ve got a few minutes to get on board.” She beamed at the four of us. “I’ve never been on a ferry before.”
“It’ll be fun. I’ve ridden them before.” Peter smiled, the first time I think I’d seen him do so since he arrived. “Come on, I’ll show you the best place to stand.” He studied Hunter’s reaction. “Okay?”
“Sure.” The older man smiled back. “Just don’t drop her in the water.”
May’s answering giggle had us all smiling as she tucked her arm into Peter’s and let him lead her off towards the small craft.
“Strange kid,” Limox said to me as we walked behind the couple. “You think we can really pull this off?”
I looked down at my gloved hands and at his bare fingers. “Well, if you had asked me a week ago if we could break into an Agency enclave and kick butt I’d have said no. What does that tell you?”
“That I make a good supervillain.” Limox’s dark eyes sparkled.
“That you make a good super. Period,” I corrected him, hoping the idea would take.
Our first steps on the floating train were a bit rickety, all five of us shifting back and forth as we adjusted to the sensation. Peter was the first to race for the railing, tugging May behind him like a little kid running amuck. There were a few other passengers, but the crew easily outnumbered them, faces solemn and stern as they went through the paces despite the imminent crisis. The world might be ending, but they were going to stick to their schedule, darn it. So Canadian.
The dark cold lake water sloshed over the gigantic rubber tires running along the sides of the ferry as we pushed away from the pier, the engine grinding at a furious pace that seemed to be wasted for such a short trip. Within minutes the ferry bumped and nudged its way back into the opposite harness, rocking and rolling just slightly from side to side. May let out a sad sigh as she and Peter rejoined our merry group.
“I think we should do that again,” she grumbled. “It really was too short.”
“Well, that was a waste of time,” Limox grunted as we walked off onto dry land.
“There’s the airport.” I waved one hand towards the small cluster of buildings. “And I’m willing to bet that’s Josh’s plane over there.”
May squinted at the terminal. “Not much to look at, really,” she said, a note of disappointment in her voice.
I chuckled as I led my team up to the terminal and inside. “I’ll take you out to the big one later on, promise.”
The woman behind the counter stared at us. Her eyes were half-closed, and it looked as if she hadn’t slept in days. “Can I help you?”
“Sure.” I jabbed a thumb at the single Cessna on the runway—not another plane in sight. “I believe Josh Hannigan is waiting for us.”
The blonde checked her clipboard. “Right. He said there’d be a private party coming by.” Her eyes flickered every few seconds to a small television set just below the counter.
“How’s it looking?” Peter asked in a low voice.
“They’ve done a good job getting who they can out of Pittsburgh.” She let out a weary sigh. “But it’s not going to be enough. They just can’t do it all. The airport’s jammed, and they’re rerouting smaller flights here to take the pressure off of the system.”
As if on cue a small jet landed on the runway, throttling down as quickly as possible and turning to head off to one of the small lanes running off the main line.
“Refugees.” She waved towards a pair of customs officers who got up from behind the ancient oak desk in the far corner. “Getting more and more diverted from Pearson.”
“How bad?” May asked.
“Bad enough that they’re already talking about setting up tent cities or putting them up in hotels or something.” She looked down at the clipboard. “Although I’m not sure if any place is safe from those aliens.”
I didn’t have to look at the other members of my team to see the resolution in their eyes.
“So, where you going?” She looked out at the runway as another plane landed, the propellers spinning frantically as it moved out of the way.
“Just up to the Muskokas,” May interjected. “Working holiday.”
“Ah. Have a good time. Keep clear of this mess for as long as you can.”
We walked out of the terminal, passing the influx of people being disgorged by the just-arrived jet. The men and women stumbled into the terminal with a few suitcases and knapsacks among them, a shell-shocked look on their faces.
“Good
thing you didn’t say Pittsburgh.” Limox nudged May’s arm. “Then we’d have to have passports.”
“Yeah.” I stopped in front of the small plane, staring at the door. After pulling the nylon harness free from under my leather jacket, I shrugged into it and yanked the fasteners tight across my chest and shoulders. “Wonder if anyone’s really checking these days.”
A man appeared a few minutes later from one of the small buildings near the runway and trotted across the still-green grass with the healthy jog of a runner. He wore a brown leather jacket with the collar just touching his shaggy black hair that begged for a haircut. He couldn’t have been much older than Jessie, which was to say that he was another puppy.
“Hey! I’m Josh.” He skidded to a stop in front of us, scanning the small group. “Wow, you don’t look like supers.”
Limox puffed out his chest and stepped forward. I had instructed them to wear the same dark outfits they had for the Agency raid even though this fight would be in daylight. Figured that it’d make it easier to keep a visual on each one. Didn’t think it’d give Limox delusions of grandeur. Thank God it wasn’t spandex.
“I. Am. Called. Meltdown.” He punctuated each word with a sharp poke of his index finger into Josh’s chest. “Mess with me and I’ll fuck you right up.”
I put my gloved hand on Limox’s forearm and pushed it down, none too lightly. “Thanks for helping us out, we really appreciate it.”
“Surf, right?” He snapped his fingers. “That’s so cool… I remember seeing you and Metal Mike a few months ago against some weak-ass called Dino-Man. What a loser.”
My smile was genuine. “Well, growing spikes out of your back and looking like a T-Rex is cool but if that’s all you got…” I spread my hands, letting a bit of static discharge from the fingers. Good to impress the public.
His eyes widened at the display. “Cool.” Snapping his head back around, he nodded towards the plane with a more professional attitude. “If you want to get inside I have to check a few things before we take off.” Without waiting for us he began to walk around the small aircraft, testing various bits and pieces.
Blaze of Glory Page 13
