by Nate Phelps
“Maybe we can find this guy,” I suggested. “I have to wonder, though—if he created this amazing new technology, why hasn’t he come forward? He’d be a hero.”
“You think he’s up to no good?” Sarah wiggled her eyebrows, jabbing at my blade.
I parried and backed out of her reach. “What do you mean?”
“Ransom and dirty money? Exploitation?”
Sarah darted forward suddenly and forced me back with a series of moves I wouldn’t have had a chance keeping up with, even if I’d had another year of practice. I parried and dodged but took multiple hits on my arms and legs. Our swords locked and we grabbed each other’s wrists as we both struggled for the advantage.
“I think I get it,” I said, breathing heavily. “He’s developed this invention so he can start a bidding war between the cities and get rich.”
“Good theory,” said Sarah, perfectly composed. “Either that, or he’s plotting to kill us all.”
“That’s not very funny,” I grunted.
Sarah shifted me to the side and knocked me off balance, breaking our grip. She didn’t even look winded. “Maybe he’s shy.”
I laughed and Sarah performed a broad sweep. My blade was ripped from my hand and tossed across the room.
“Whoops.” She grinned. “Didn’t mean to beat you so quickly. You really need to hold on tighter.”
“Oh yeah, sure… my bad.” I shook my hand and pressed it between my legs as I waited for the pain to subside.
“Poor baby.” She took my hand and kissed it.
That made it feel much better.
“What?” she asked when she saw my expression.
“Nothing.” I flicked her in the arm.
“I know that look,” she said, nodding. “I can read your mind, Kleiner.”
Oh gosh, I hoped not. My face burned, but I was able to hide it by going to retrieve my sword.
“Yup,” said Sarah. “You’re hungry, aren’t you?”
Oh, thank goodness. “Hungry for victory!” I attacked her.
She proceeded to disarm me another six times.
“Keep practicing,” she said as I stood on a chair to pull my sword from the ceiling. “You’ll get me one day.”
“Fat chance.”
She grabbed her bag. “Don’t get eaten by a Crawler before I see you again.”
“Yes, thank you. That’s hilarious.”
I slumped onto a bench and watched her leave. As she moved around the corner I murmured, “Love you.”
“What’s that?”
Her head poked back around the corner and my sword clattered to the ground. I scooped it up quickly.
“I said… I’m gonna wreck you. Next time. Better watch out.”
“Ha! Keep dreaming.”
“Will do,” I said as she left once again.
* * *
The next day, I awoke to a message from Johnny.
“Don’t worry about today,” it said. “I’ve got some things to take care of.”
“In the city or out?” I wrote back as I started getting dressed.
“What do you care?” he replied.
“If it’s in the city, I want to come. No offense, but I don’t trust you.”
“No.”
Oh well. I’d tried. Twenty minutes later, right when I’d just gotten excited about the day off, he messaged again:
“Actually, never mind. You might be useful.”
I stared at the text. What did that mean?
“What are we doing?” I typed.
“Come find out.”
This last message came with a location. Johnny being secretive? This was new.
I decided to take my sword, despite the extra weight. I had a permit to carry it, and there was an uneasy feeling in my gut that told me I might need it.
Shania was in top form and hummed happily the entire way. This was probably going to be something really stupid, like balancing Johnny’s budget or something.
I soon abandoned this theory as I was led into the seedy part of Midhaven. The buildings were old and run-down. I landed, but didn’t see Johnny. Several papers blew across the street. Ther was a man sitting on a bench, taking long swigs out of a dirty bottle. For a minute or so, I stood there, unsure of what to do.
Suddenly, I was grabbed from behind and pulled around a corner.
“Hey!” I grabbed for my sword, but stopped when I recognized Johnny. He was wearing normal clothes, brown pants and a black shirt.
“Do you have to stand in the middle of the street?” he asked. “What’s all this?” He gestured at my tools.
“What?”
“I’m obviously doing something that I don’t want the Enforcers to know about. Why are you all geared up?”
“How am I supposed to keep you from breaking crap if I don’t have my stuff?”
“We’re not playing that game today. Take it off. You look like a flying circus.”
I obediently started unloading my tools and unstrapping Shania.
Johnny looked around as I worked. “Bring your sword and your sticky gun thing.”
“I can’t take the gun, the canister’s too big. I do have the pistol, but it’s untested. There’s only room for about ten to twelve shots.”
“That’s plenty for what I have in mind,” said Johnny.
The pistol was a cordless version of my foam gun. It was built with a round canister attached to the top. I’d made it as a backup in case I ran out of foam or didn’t want to carry the full get up for whatever reason.
I slid my sword belt over my shoulder and put the pistol in my back pocket. Johnny took Shania and the rest of my things, and hid them on a rooftop.
“Follow me,” he said, moving back out onto the street.
“Where are we going?”
“I’ve been doing a bit of digging. I found an old buddy who should have some useful info.”
“Nice,” I said. “’Friend’ buddy or ‘punch-him-in-the-face’ buddy?”
“'Punch-him-in-the-face' buddy.”
“Cool, cool. No worries. Just as long as he doesn’t become a ‘throw-him-through-the-wall’ buddy, we should be fine.”
“Why did I bring you?”
We walked deeper into the filthy neighborhood. Several times, we came across groups of rough-looking men that watched us as we passed. I was filled with a sense of empowerment being with Johnny. If anyone messed with us, they were in for one heck of a surprise.
Eventually, we came to a red brick building that had been stained black over the years.
“Get your glue gun ready,” said Johnny.
As we approached the door, I noticed a slit near the top. Johnny motioned for me to stand on the other side, out of view. He gave a good knock and the slit opened.
“I’m here for Thirteen.”
“He’s not taking visitors today,” growled the man behind the door.
“Oh, really? Well look at this.” Johnny held up his hand as if there was something on it.
“What am I supposed to…?”
Johnny flicked him in the head with his finger. There was a groan and then a thud.
Johnny gave the door a quick tug, ripping the deadbolt free. It swung open and he stepped over the unconscious man.
“Hey,” I said, picking up the broken deadbolt. “Not cool.”
“Don’t worry,” said Johnny. “No one’s going to process a claim for this place. Now be a good Cleaner and shoot that guy.
I sighed and dropped the deadbolt before following him inside. The unconscious man was about twice my size and definitely Lutosian. I stepped around him and stuck him to the ground with a burst of foam. He didn’t react, still out cold. I followed Johnny deeper into the building.
The walls were filthy, covered with water stains and mold. A hallway led to a dimly-lit kitchen and stairs to our left.
“Let’s make this quick.” Johnny rushed up the stairs and I followed, struggling to keep up.
When I got to the top, he’d already
found another guard. He held his hand over the guy’s mouth as he struggled to break free. “Glue him up.”
I obeyed. One shot for the body, and another small one for the mouth did the trick. That was two and half shots so far. I could only count on seven or eight more.
We left that guard by the stairs. I frequently glanced over my shoulder as I followed Johnny, worried that someone would sneak up on me. We stopped at the end of the hall.
“There’s one more guard by Thirteen’s office,” he whispered. “I’ll handle him. You seal the doors of the other rooms so no one bothers me while I have my chat.”
“What if I’m too slow?”
“Let’s go.” Johnny ducked around the corner.
Crap, crap, crap...
My legs didn’t want to move. How did I get in this mess? I managed to peel my feet off the floor and give chase.
Johnny was halfway down the hall before the guard could scream for help.
There were four doors. I quickly foamed three of them, but the fourth opened right as my glob of goop hit. It stretched and an ugly face covered in scars and housing a mouthful of crooked teeth poked out through the opening.
“What’d you do to my door you little freak? Don’t move!” His face pulled back and his hand emerged with a gun.
“Whoa… no!” I fired four more shots without thinking, which enveloped the gun and covered the door. There was a barrage of muffled cursing. I rushed after Johnny, stepping over the guard he’d knocked out and into the room at the end of the hall.
Johnny was standing before a man who was sitting behind a wooden desk. The man was working calmly at a computer that looked far too nice to be in this kind of dump.
“Hello, Thirteen,” said Johnny.
The man was dressed in a finely-tailored grey suit. It struck me as an odd choice for this part of town. He looked up at Johnny and scowled. “I’m surprised. I thought you were smart enough not to come here.”
“I want you to stop watching me,” said Johnny. He moved forward until he was looming over the man.
“You know that’s not possible.” Thirteen returned to his work. “I’m curious as to when you started caring so much. You could have come to see me before now.”
“My friend here found some Crawlers in the forest.” Johnny motioned to me. “Who put them there?”
Thirteen looked up and laughed. “I knew you were slow, but that’s a bit embarrassing.”
Was I supposed to be following any of this? How did Johnny know this guy?
I jumped when Johnny suddenly grabbed the computer and flung it against the wall. The hologram display fizzled out and Thirteen sat back in his chair, folding his arms. Johnny slammed his fists on the desk, collapsing it.
“I’m only going to ask once more!” Johnny hissed. “Who’s gathering the Crawlers?”
Thirteen met his gaze and smiled. “I knew you couldn’t resist getting too close.”
He reached out and attached a silver cuff to Johnny’s arm. Johnny cried out and fell back, his limbs contorting. I took a step forward and froze, unsure of what to do. Part of me thought that Johnny had to be joking. It would probably be best for me to stand back and let him handle it.
Thirteen calmly walked around the remains of his desk and pulled a sword from a sheath on his hip. The blade was made of a dark metal and had a twisted tip. A wave of foreboding washed over me. He raised the blade over Johnny.
I pulled my own sword free and swung at the man. He leaned to the side, avoiding the blow, and spared me an annoyed glance. I attacked again. He knocked the blow aside with ease and advanced. His quick strikes forced me back. I warded the blows off frantically—Thirteen was more than a match for me.
He whipped his sword across my own. It sliced clean through and my severed blade clattered to the floor. I stared at the two-inch nub still attached to the hilt, stunned.
Thirteen ignored me and turned back to Johnny. I grabbed at my back pocket and pulled the foam pistol free. Thirteen swung at Johnny again, just as I pulled the trigger. The glob intercepted the strike and ripped the sword from his hand, sticking it to the wall.
“You idiot!” Thirteen pulled a gun from his suit coat and pointed it at me. A hand shot up and grabbed the nozzle just before he fired. I flinched as the bullet missed and hit the door behind me. Johnny crushed the gun and stood, ripping the electrified brace from his arm. Thirteen tried to jump out of reach, but Johnny grabbed him by the front of his shirt and slammed him against the floor. His arm was burned where he had ripped the brace off.
“WHO IS IT?” Johnny roared.
“Okay, okay…” Thirteen was smiling as he choked under Johnny’s grip. The Sentinel eased up so he could speak clearly. “Radon. Who else? Did I really need to tell you?”
My eyes widened, and I shared a look with Johnny. Radon, Lutosa’s Sentinel?
Thirteen pulled another brace from his pocket and stuck it to the underside of Johnny’s arm. The Sentinel grunted and rolled away, his back arching as he struggled to pull it off. Thirteen got to his feet. I fired my foam pistol, but only a small bit whizzed out and dropped to the floor. I’d lost count. Thirteen hit me hard in the stomach and I doubled over.
As I knelt there, struggling to breathe, he ripped off the nice suit jacket, revealing a compact, black jetpack, the likes of which I’d never seen. He tried to pull his sword free from the wall without success and swore loudly before kicking the window open and blasting away.
It took several moments for me to recover. Johnny ripped off the second brace and leaped out of the window after Thirteen. I looked out after them, but they were gone from sight. Of course, Johnny had left me here.
I turned to leave, but pulled up short as I glanced at the sword—there was something really important about that blade. I went to it and braced my feet against the wall as I pulled on the hilt. After a long moment, it peeled off, taking wall paper and some old drywall with it.
I rushed down the hallway, flinching at the loud bangs on the doors as the thugs tried to get free. No one stopped me and I was able to make my way out and back to the street. Johnny landed abruptly, startling me. Thirteen was not with him.
“What’s going on?” I asked. “What was that guy talking about? What does it have to do with Radon?”
“The city is in danger,” said Johnny. “We have to get to Lutosa.”
“We?” I asked, perplexed.
“Oh yes,” Johnny pounded me on the back, knocking me to the ground. “You saved my life. I’m gonna keep you around for a bit.”
“Oh, great.”
Chapter 7
“Where do you think you’re going?” Brad asked as I rushed past. I was back at HQ, struggling to get all the permits for the trip to Lutosa.
“Sorry, gotta go!” I shouted over my shoulder.
“Are you working off the clock?” he yelled after me.
It seemed like he might follow, so I doubled back and went to Sarah’s office to shake him. I gave a courtesy knock before bursting in. She paused, a tortilla-wrap halfway to her mouth. I didn’t say anything, but set the paper requests down on her desk, pulled up the digital ones on my watch, and began filling them out.
“Can I help you?”
“I just need to hide from Brad for a minute,” I explained, tapping furiously with the pen.
“What’s the rush?” She leaned over to get a better look at the forms. “Lutosa? Seems a bit early.”
“Shh! It’s a secret.” I glanced at the door. “I fought a guy by the way. Stole his sword. He did break mine and got away with a cheap shot, but you should be proud.”
“You… what?” Sarah put down her wrap. “Why are you going to Lutosa?”
“I dunno exactly. Radon is involved in some shady stuff. We’re going to go find out what’s going on.”
“What about the Crawlers? Isn’t Johnny supposed to be looking into that?”
“Yeah, apparently it’s related.”
“Really?” Sarah was quiet for a moment
as I worked. Suddenly, she pushed her chair back and stood. “I’m coming with you.”
“Wha…?” I stammered. “But… you file incident reports. They aren’t just going to let you go to Lutosa.”
“Sure, they will. We just won’t tell anyone.”
“Johnny will kill me! I wasn’t supposed to say anything.”
“Let me deal with him.” Sarah helped me fill out the permit requests and we left the office.
“Seriously,” I said. “I don’t think this is a good idea.”
“Cleaner!” We turned to see Johnny behind us. He gave Sarah a wary look before glaring at me. “What are you doing?”
“I’m getting the permits.”
“Forget about that. I told you to meet me by the gate. What’s she doing here?”
“I’m coming,” Sarah said, stepping forward and folding her arms.
“You told her?” Johnny growled, his voice rising.
“Well… sort of…” I shriveled beneath his gaze.
“I can help.”
“No!” Johnny barked. “Let’s go.” He grabbed my arm and I stumbled after him. Sarah sputtered for a moment and then followed.
“Have you guys met before?” I asked.
“That… IDIOT,” Sarah yelled. “is the reason why I was kicked out of the Agency!”
“You were reckless,” Johnny replied. “Which is exactly why I don’t want you to come now. Go back to your desk.”
Reckless? Since when was anyone too reckless for him?
“Johnny!” Dr. Henry appeared from an adjacent hallway. “Where have you been?”
“I’ll explain later.” Johnny pulled my arm again. “We have to get to Lutosa.”
“Seriously?” Dr. Henry threw his hands in the air and followed along, behind Sarah. “Why are you taking the boy?”
“He’s useful. We’ll be back soon, and I’ll tell you everything.”
Sarah was quick to jump in. “Oh, and I’m not useful?”
“What did you do to her?” asked Dr. Henry.
Johnny glared at Sarah. “She wants to come.”
“Let her.”
“No!”
The Doctor looked between the two of them. “Is that still going on?”
“Maybe we should do a quick recap?” I suggested.
