The Broken Ones (Book 3): The Broken City

by Jobe, David

  I owe you a bullet.

  She turned the paper over and found nothing. She had no idea who it could be from. No one from Indianapolis would know where she had gone to. She had changed names and moved hundreds of miles away. She picked up the envelope, looking at it again. It had her new name and not that of Natasha. In this city, they all called her Teresa Foxx. That was the name on the envelope. Had she somehow made an enemy here, scrubbing feces from toilets? She scanned the envelope, looking for the postmark to tell her where this was mailed from.

  She couldn’t find any.

  She then noticed that the envelope had no stamp on it. Whoever wrote this delivered it personally. This hadn’t gone through the mail. She stood up, dashing across the room to the wide bay window at the front of her house. She flung the curtains open, expecting to see someone standing at the mailbox.

  There was no one there. The street sat empty. “Someone must be toying with me.” She looked back down at the envelope in her hand. Something new had appeared on it. A single red dot. Frowning she stared at it. The dot moved, sliding down the envelope and onto her body. The dot began to climb from her stomach, past her heaving breasts. She gave one ragged breath as it reached her chin. She looked up, and in a brief instant saw a flash of light from the top of an office building a few blocks away.

  “Oh, fu-”

  Chapter Forty-Seven

  A Family Reunion

  Allison watched Henchwomen’s head explode through her scope. She stayed staring into the window of the woman who had tried to kill her man twice, willing her to get back up again so Allison could put another round through her head. After a while, when she decided that the deed was truly done, she rose. Dusting off the bits of dirt from her blue suit, she punched in a new code into her blue Gauntlet. A tingling sensation passed through her, letting her know the new power was in play. She focused on the rifle, sending it back to her personal arsenal at her and Mac’s home. That done, she jumped to the designated location.

  She found herself standing on the sidewalk in a cul-de-sac of a nice neighborhood. To the west, she could barely see the skyline of Indianapolis rising in the distance. A man two houses over was in the middle of mowing his lawn when she arrived. At first, he appeared concerned until he saw her outfit. The dark blue suit that she wore with the silver badge, let him know that she was a member of the Altered Enforcement Division, often referred to as “Aid” because of the phonetic sound of the initials. He gave her a respectful nod and went about his yard work.

  She looked around, having expected others to be here by now. As she did, Chris and Silvia appeared a few feet away, holding hands.

  Both of them wore a suit of the same color as hers, though Allison’s was streamlined and tactical, for the agents that jumped into the thick of things. Their suits were more of a business casual look, though they had the badges of the office sewn into the left breast. Silvia and Chris were both from the counter-terrorism branch, working together to try and forestall any possible attacks before they could happen. The fact that they enjoyed their work, as one might with their requirements to foresee the future, meant they always seemed to be smiling. Allison wondered how the whole talking to future dead people weighed on them, and though she told no one, was the reason she never even played with that particular power.

  “Good to see you too,” Allison said, offering her hand to Chris and in turning being hugged by Silvia. After she disengaged from the hug, she turned back to Chris. “Thank you for the tip.

  Chris smiled. He looked as if he was gaining weight but in a good way. When they first asked him to join, he looked like a mopping skeleton. “Of course. I knew that would be a mission for you and you alone.” His eyes darted to Mac has the man appeared floating a yard away.

  Allison turned to see Mac floating down toward her. “My love,” she said, opening her arms to him. When he embraced her, she reveled in the strong hug he gave her. Over the year, Mac’s body had been transformed from that of the obese boy she had fallen in love with to the strong and fit man she married. Though he still wasn’t one of those hulking muscle men you saw in comics, thank god for that, he was fit with muscle lines showing through his own blue suit. Like her’s, his suit was the tactical kind.

  “I woke up this morning and you were gone. I thought we were going to go get coffee with Jessica.” He kissed her on the lips and landed.

  “Sorry, love. I got a tip and had to run. I would have woken you up, but you looked so cute sleeping there. I hope you went without me.”

  Mac nodded, smiling. “I did. If I hadn’t, she would have pouted for a week. She spent the whole time telling me about first grade and all the things she learned. I don’t think she took a breath the whole time. Being with other kids has been great for her. Oh, how did the tip pan out?”

  “It turned out to be a dead end.” She smiled and wrapped her arm around him. She turned to Chris and Silvia. “Did you know that Mac’s drones are now going to be a standard part of every patrol unit? The tests cases were a huge success. They have helped reduce tension between police officers and civilians as both sides know they aren’t controlled by the police and can’t be turned off. Every interaction is recorded. And the police know that if their lives become threatened, the unit will de-escalate the situation and provide protection for the officer. It’s a beautiful thing.”

  Mac blushed slightly. “The police still do all the heavy lifting. I just gave them a tool that lets everyone go home to their families at night.”

  Grimm appeared standing beside Silvia, who gave a soft squeal. He wore the tactical suit just like Mac and Allison. “Sorry,” he said. He smiled at everyone. “Sorry, I’m late. Has been a hectic morning.”

  “Still hunting Golem?” Chris asked.

  Grimm growled and shook his head. “I swear, that guy must have a sixth sense. Every time I think I have him, he slips away before my guys can get there. It’s like he’s a ghost or something. He may work with stone, but it feels like trying to catch mist. I swear, Chris, that little statute you gave me for luck I think has the opposite effect.”

  Chris smiled and shrugged. “It worked wonders for me. Guess you have to just trust and keep trying.”

  Grimm nodded. “I think that’s on the back burner for now.” He stepped in, and motioned for them to pull in closer. “I have a story I’m not sure how I feel about. So, I have been chasing this guy for a year now. He’s bouncing from city to city like a pinball game gone berserk. Then one day the trail goes so cold I worry the shit is dead. Then I have a friend whose doing missionary work in Africa. Says there is this warlord out there in some country I can’t even pronounce. Guy’s name is Bowkew or something like that. Well, this warlord makes his money by raiding nearby countries. He takes the kids, kills the parents. Then depending on the kid’s age and gender, he sells them off for various things. Real douche of a man. Well, this guy apparently has this fortress of a home. It’s so bad an army once tried to attack it and was pushed back. Oh, and the guy's house is full of artwork and priceless shit. He even had like a dozen of those Terracotta warriors in his throne room. Yes, he has a freaking throne room. Anyways, one night this guy goes to bed. Next morning the guards come in to find him in his throne room, sitting on the throne impaled by a dozen Terracotta spears. The Terracotta warriors are all standing in front of the throne, motionless.” At this point, Grimm chuckles and shakes his head. “But that wasn’t the end of it. Boocahew’s second in command buries the body and takes the throne. He starts up business as usual. He does have the smarts to put the warriors in the basement and lock the doors. The next morning, dude is found in the basement, laying in the middle of these guys, spears decorating him like a birthday cake. Scrawled in blood next to the body is a note that says to leave the damn kids alone. Complete with curse word.” He chuckles again. “Funniest part is, it’s written in American English, so they have to find someone to translate the shit.” He shook his head. “Been about two weeks now, and the new Bookasnew type guy isn
’t messing with any kids.”

  Allison smirked. “So, you think this guy’s in Africa then?”

  Grimm shrugged. “I don’t know the man’s reach, but those murders aren’t in my jurisdiction, so I’m not in a hurry to investigate them if you know what I mean.”

  They all laughed.

  Lanton appeared, followed quickly by Elanor with a bundle in her hands. Lanton wore a blue three-piece suit, no badges on his. He scratched at a black and grey beard, his wedding ring catching the sun for a moment. Elanor Lanton wore a simple blue dress that made her look like she was going to some Hollywood premiere. “Sorry we’re late. Little one is a bit fussy this morning.”

  Allison nearly sprinted across the distance between them, holding out her hands to Elanor. “Give him,” she commanded.

  Elanor smiled wide and turned the bundle around so that baby Julian stared out at Allison. The baby gave a loud cooing noise and held out grasping hands toward Allison.

  “Hey sweety,” Allison said, scooping the boy up and hugging him close. She laughed as he began to play with her hair. “I thought I told you to be good for mommy and daddy. Today was an important day.” She looked up at Lanton, “how did it go?”

  Lanton’s face broke into a big smile. “The bill passed. Only one holdout, but after a quiet talk with him, he agreed. The Morte Cure is now legal to use on people who are in prison or in jail awaiting trial. As long as doing so won’t deprive them of reasonable human function.”

  “What does that mean?” Mac asked.

  “It means if it knocks them down to being normal humans for a bit, then that’s alright with the Supreme Court. I think once they understood we could give the power back after the person was free, the cost-effectiveness of this sealed the deal.” Lanton wrapped a loving arm around Elanor.

  “It probably helps that you knew which members of Congress had powers they weren’t telling anyone about.” Allison ticked baby Julian on the cheek.

  “It did seem to change the last one’s mind in a real hurry.”

  They all laughed, even baby Julian, but not for the same reason.

  Julian and Dance appeared a bit down the street, both dressed in similar tactical suits as Allison, though theirs were white with a blue cross across the breast. Julian had pushed hard for a team that was comprised less of fighters and more of people who showed up and got people out of harm’s way. Once Dance was back on his feet, he had joined up with Julian, becoming his partner. Together they jumped into whatever horrible event there was and started pulling people to safety. When Julian saw everyone he looked to Dance, who shrugged.

  “Hi everyone.” He came in offering hugs and handshakes. He spent a little extra time playing with the baby. His face still showed he felt in awe at Lanton giving him such a high honor. “Hey, baby J.”

  The baby’s eyes lit up, and he squirmed to be picked up by Julian. Reluctantly, Allison allowed the baby to be taken away from her. She stepped back to stand next to Mac.

  “What’s everybody doing here?” Julian asked, having the side of his face repeatedly smacked by an energetic baby.

  Before anyone could answer, Brian, Heather and Jessica appeared. Though Brian usually wore the blue of the team, today he wore a familiar shirt that said, “Welcome to the Gun Show,” only now his arms were truly worthy of the title. The man had filled out massively and was becoming close to being cartoonish in his size. His face was another matter, at least for the moment. The entire left side of it was bruised and swollen. He had gotten into a fight with a monster a few nights past and was supposed to be on bed rest. Something Nurse Lindell was supposed to ensure happened. He must have caught Allison giving Heather the stink eye because he said, “I wouldn’t miss this if she had to push me here on a gurney.”

  Jessica sprinted the distance and was scooped up by Allison. “You missed my story!”

  Allison laughed. “After this, you’ll tell me all about it. Okay?” She then made a motion of turning a key before her mouth,

  Jessica nodded and repeated the motion, going quiet.

  “What’s going on?” Julian asked.

  Allison pointed behind him.

  Julian turned and gave a gasp.

  Just down the street, Julian’s mom, little brother and Emilia had appeared. Julian’s mom still moved a little slowly, but she walked on her own. When she saw Julian, her face lit up. James, who had grown a good foot in the last year smiled but stayed by his mother’s side. His face said he wanted to come hang out with Jessica, but his duty kept him with his mother.

  That made Allison smile even more. She liked James.

  “Baby boy.” Julian’s mom patted Julian’s face. “And with the little one. When are you going to find a girl and start making your own little ones?”

  Emilia blushed next to Julian’s mom, but Allison thought she was the only one that saw it. Julian had not been of age when they met, but neither of them has told anyone yet. Allison knew because she saw them making out one day when they thought they were alone. Emilia knew that Allison knew, so she threw her a glance. Julian remained unaware of his secret being known, but his eyes did dart to Emilia, who blushed even more.

  “I’m going to finish college first, Momma,” Julian said. He turned to Emilia. “I thought you said you needed to run a mission.”

  Emilia wore the same white and blue outfit that Julian and Dance did. She smiled wide. “I am, Teleporty.”

  Julian threw Brian a glance to which Brian responded with a smile and a shrug.

  “Will someone tell me what is going on?” Julian pleaded with everyone.

  Emilia stepped forward. “Look over there.” She pointed at the house they had all come to stand in front of. It was a large two-story house with a three-car garage. An impressive house of white with blue shutters. On the front lawn, a sign with the realtor's name sat, with a big red “sold” sign slapped over the woman’s face. “We all got together and started a collection. This is your mom’s house.”

  The Johnson family gaped at the large house, eyes wide and mouths hanging open.

  “What? Why?” Julian stammered. He looked to Lanton and then to Mac. “This doesn’t make any sense.”

  Lanton stepped forward and clapped Julian on the back. “Because you’ve been slacking on your homework, Kid. Sure, it was for the right reasons. You wanted to get your mom out of that little apartment you all share, but none of us could sit back and let you run yourself ragged trying to save up for a place, pay for the one you have, and try to go for a doctorate. Now, you can focus on your studies. Use that brilliant mind of yours to help even more people. The world’s shifting course and the future is going to need well-educated people who actually care about others to help steer it.”

  Julian just stared at the man, blinking away tears.

  Mac stepped forward. “I took the liberty-"

  Allison coughed.

  Mac smirked and corrected. “We took the liberty of upgrading your house. All the latest tech and even a panic room should you ever need it.”

  Allison knew he wouldn’t need it for Daniel. If the man ever came out of the coma and tried to leave, he wouldn’t make it past the hospital door. She didn’t say that, but she agreed that every home needed a panic room. She smiled. “I also made sure the guest room had a female’s touch.” She made a point not to look at Emilia, but she was sure the woman was blushing again.

  “Thank you. Thank you all.” Julian shook hands and hugged everyone again. “Shall we go inside?”

  Allison set down Jessica. “Go ahead. Mac and I have somewhere we need to be.”

  Julian nodded and with Mother at his elbow, marched the rest of them toward the house.

  Allison turned to Mac, slipping close and planting a wet kiss on his lips.

  Breathless, Mac asked, “what was that for, Mrs. Roberts?” Mac had changed his last name to his mother’s maiden name after the battle with his father. Then she had taken his last name a few months later.

  She smiled at the name.
“Let’s go on a date.”

  “Of course, my love. Where to? Dinner? A movie? Oh, maybe some putt-putt.”

  Allison laughed and put a finger to his lips. “Paris.”

  Mac’s eyes widened, and a smile broke across his face. “That means we’ll have to pop home for clothes. These outfits aren’t recognized in France yet.”

  “We could just use that power to change clothes.” She did a little playful turn for him.