Midnight Liberty League - Part I

by Brock Law

therapist.”

  “Oh right,” Professor Mith remembered. “Okay then. Come back when you’re done. I’m sure we’ll need some help.”

  Will nodded. Professor Mith immediately turned and dashed off with the director. As soon as they were out of sight, Will spun around. In double time, he rushed through the museum. His feet hopped over the bits of artifacts sprinkled through the gallery. A growing pain in his stomach spurred him on faster, needing to get away.

  He stumbled into the bathroom next to the elevator and latched on to the sink. His chest heaved again, worse than during the previous night’s chase. He looked up into the mirror, guilt stricken and dreading imminent arrest.

  Will blurted out, “I led them straight here.”

  Those Who Help Themselves

  Will, Franklin and Jefferson reclined beneath an umbrella at a table on the veranda of Jefferson’s hotel. A succulent breakfast was laid out. Hearty meats, eggs whisked with peppers and mushrooms, toasted baguette slices and ripe berries were arranged under the shade. Were it not for the rising sun, however, the food would have gone cold. The collective mood did not reflect the morning’s breezy balminess. Each man’s meal was paused at meager stages of consumption.

  Jefferson witnessed a depressed demeanor in the other two, as he took rhythmic sips from his coffee. Neither noticed his eyes intermittently crossing back and forth between them. Something in each man’s mind drew him away from the table. Franklin’s nose rested on his folded hands, and Will glared at his plate.

  “This must be the dismal state of our affairs, gentlemen, because I cannot decide which of us is ruder,” Jefferson indulged.

  Franklin turned, confused, “Hmm?”

  “Well, you two because you have hardly touched your breakfast and you should, or me because I am eating without you and I shouldn’t,” said Jefferson.

  Franklin’s face lifted with appreciation for Jefferson’s wry observation. The latter was pleased that his attempt at humor gave Franklin a fleeting moment of comfort. Will, on the other hand, was still downcast.

  “It’s been over a week, Tom,” Franklin reflected. “After two centuries, you’d think it wouldn’t bother me, but it feels like an eternity.”

  “She’ll be alright, Ben,” Jefferson assured. “If we don’t find her first, she’ll talk her way out. She is a Franklin after all. William, I would have expected a person of your metabolic prowess to have gone back for seconds by now.”

  “I really messed up,” Will confessed.

  “It couldn’t be helped,” Jefferson calmed him. “If not for your intervention, we’d be missing two Franklins and we wouldn’t be here at all. You have by far the most to lose, yet have shown the most courage at each turn. Given the circumstances, your response has been remarkably clear headed. If you feel the urge to act, I recommend you listen to yourself.”

  The founder’s words transmitted into a slight boost for Will, whose head bobbed. Still deeply perplexed by his predicament, he remained otherwise unresponsive. As Jefferson’s brow furrowed, he took another sip of coffee.

  One of the glass doors behind them slammed and startled the diners. They turned to see Adams charging down the terrace. His afflicted countenance announced that some fresh calamity had occurred, although they were still far too drowsy to react.

  Adams remarked as he plodded over, “We’re in for it now, boys!”

  They received him with more annoyance than curiosity. Once presented at the edge of their table he released his fury upon a rolled up newspaper in his hands. No one stirred, until he threw the periodical down.

  “Congratulations,” Adams said acerbically, “we made the front page.”

  Unenthused by the dramatics, Jefferson leisurely set aside his cup. He scowled up at Adams in protest of the outburst, and then at the paper. Just as slowly, he leaned over to retrieve the publication.

  Adams summarized, “The head of the FBI himself has come up from D.C. to monitor the ‘Philadelphia Situation.’ What do you think about that?”

  “Besides the two grammatical errors in the first paragraph,” Jefferson quipped, “it is as expected.”

  “As expected? Are you serious?” Adams roared.

  “At least we know the system is working. That is what we set out to do,” Jefferson noted. “Ah, and Homeland Security, wonderful. Then we are in good hands.”

  “Unbelievable,” Adams proclaimed. “Death or jail, gentlemen, those are our options unless we act immediately.”

  “They’re still randomly attacking, so at least we can presume that they don’t know where it is,” Jefferson replied.

  “Or they’re trying to draw us out,” Will submitted.

  “Precisely likely,” Adams supported.

  “Please do not mistake my apprehension for inaction, John, but I do not entirely consent to the conditions of this meeting,” Jefferson spoke plainly. “We can’t very well all show up. It’d be foolish to give away our number.”

  “We must show in force, rather than allow them further time to conspire,” Adams reasoned.

  “We are not an army,” Jefferson pointed out. “We must assume that between the two immortals in their custody, they have a complete listing of the rest of us. If we show together, they will keep Vivie and kill us all.”

  “It is certain death. We must give them a reason to believe that they cannot yet carry out such an expedition without repercussion,” Franklin advised. “This can only be accomplished through the perpetuation of uncertainty.”

  “We cannot broker a peace with demons whose interest does not extend beyond the self,” Adams encouraged. “Let us arm ourselves and be done with it.”

  “In your term, John, you were foremost among us to press for peace,” Jefferson recalled.

  “We had no money, we had no army, we had no allies,” Adams rationalized.

  “We still don’t. We need help,” Jefferson suggested.

  “The reign of terror was not our fight; this is,” said Adams.

  “The French Revolution was, and we have yet to put our promises into practice. They ended up with an emperor because of it,” Jefferson chided.

  Adams scoffed, “Between you and Hamilton we could have found cause to fight the entire World.”

  “Don’t you dare side me with him and the mad King,” Jefferson retorted. “I have always understood the breadth of my philosophy. You cannot incite one revolution of the downtrodden and abandon another for the same reason. You contradict yourself, sir.”

  “It is you who contradict yourself. You wanted to engage England again, and now you want treatise with Nazis?” Adams responded harshly.

  “I think you have both changed each other’s minds so as to remain on opposing sides,” Franklin moaned.

  Adams grilled, “Prudence is my philosophy, dear friend. Knowing when you can, and when you can’t. I left my family in Boston because peace was no longer an option. I did not bring us into the French and English wars because I believed reconciliation was an option, but today it is not. We must resist and we must do it ourselves.”

  Jefferson shot back, “Peace through restricting the speech of seditious opinions?”

  Adams pressed, “Peace by deterring instigators of alien chaos. Do you really want open warfare in the streets of Philadelphia between a horde of vampires and European mercenaries?”

  Jefferson reproached, “You prefer our current state? I intend to call upon those with whom we share existence.”

  “The Swiss are bound to us by blood, but we are not allies. We mucked that up quite a long time ago. I’m shocked you’ve forgotten. I would have thought you’d be the last person to want to reach out to them,” Adams scolded.

  “I have been Hugues’ guest many times since then,” Jefferson revealed. “We have no reprisal to fear except our own blame. In either case, we will ensure our survival.”

  Adams countered, “We don’t have time for that. The more this continues, the worse it will get. The city is flooded with our own people, whom we must avoid
, not to mention the beastly undead who destroy national monuments by the hour. We cannot call upon our Alpine brethren just yet. If the Templars oblige us to deal with them, then we shall at that time. The arrival of the Swiss Guard now would rather give the game away, don’t you think?”

  “Honestly, I’m surprised they’re not here already. That same article must have crossed Godfrey’s desk hours ago. He wouldn’t be one to ignore such a thing as coincidence,” Franklin wagered.

  “All the more reason to finish this tomorrow,” Adams supported.

  “Stealth and maneuvering are far better than the complete apocalypse that would ensue if the Grail’s existence were confirmed. In the same respect we are no match for whatever lurks along the fringe of night. I do not see how either course leads to a favorable result,” said Franklin.

  Adams belted, “If the Swiss came here, we would have no control of the situation.”

  “We have none now,” Will chimed in. “All we have is an opportunity to negotiate.”

  “A meeting which we must attend tomorrow night for the sake of Vivienne’s life,” Adams added, “but who among us would dare go in blindly knowing he was not supported by all parties?”

  “I’ll go,” Will volunteered. “They know me. My life, my city, my fight.”

  “Hah, there you are,” Adams slapped Will on the shoulder. “There you are, gentlemen. A new generation of spirit. We did not do wrong.”

  Jefferson, who was still skimming the paper, squinted and held it closer to his face to focus. A troubled expression appeared. He honed in