PHENOMENAL GIRL 5 Read online

  “Good. Excellent. You are already better at deductive reasoning than most of the others I have trained. I practically had to hold their hands through the process; you take the initiative.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I am glad to see there is more to you than just a pretty face and muscles.”

  Did he just say I was pretty? I played it cool. “And there seems to be more to you than just super-intelligence coupled with a lack of tact.”

  A boyish grin broke out. “Well, of course there is.”

  “I’m sure.”

  “You left out good looks, for one,” he added, either fishing for a compliment or teasing me. Or both.

  I rose to the challenge. “And modesty.”

  “And athleticism.”

  “And obsessiveness.”

  “And charm.”

  “And bossiness.”

  “Well I am, technically, your boss.”

  “Oh, yeah.” And I had a crush on my boss. Was there ever a relationship more doomed to failure? “Well, I guess we can’t be friends then.”

  “And why not?”

  “No one’s ever really friends with their boss. Eventually the boss has to do something authoritative, and it upsets the subordinate.”

  “Well, I think the subordinate should be more understanding.”

  “And bosses don’t like being challenged by subordinates.”

  “We know that is not true in this case.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You are mouthy.”

  “So are you!”

  “And it does not bother me that you are. I rather like it, actually,” he said, rocking on his heels, hands behind his back. “You are not mouthy in a disrespectful sense, like some of my previous partners were, nor are you a submissive mouse like many others. You are one of the most interesting people I have had the pleasure to meet in a long time.”

  I blushed. “Thanks. So I guess we can be friends.”

  “I think so, too.”

  I turned back to my work. “So what do we do now?”

  He looked at the list and sighed, reaching over to take the mouse and coming tantalizingly close to me to do so. “Start checking into the suspects’ last known whereabouts. The police are already investigating the two crime scenes to see if anyone saw anything suspicious, and Pendergast promised to let me know if they find anything. The next step will be asking around in the magic community. And I still patrol nightly, so we must continue with that. Maybe we can kill two birds with one stone.”

  “How’s that?”

  He clicked on the picture of the Virus. “Get into costume. We are going patrolling in Sector G. The Virus has been known to frequent a bar down there and has made it known how much he hates Syn. Maybe we can eliminate him from our suspect list.”

  “Shaking down a villain sure beats sitting in front of the computer,” I agreed.

  The area by the train depot was heavy in crime. Robberies, drug use, and rapes happened with regular frequency. You’d think with all the heroes in the world that places like this wouldn’t exist, but reality was sadly uncooperative.

  I hovered above a building, barely noting the prostitutes hawking their wares to passersby below.

  “Are you not going to do anything?” Robert asked as I landed on the roof next to him.

  “About what?”

  “Them.” He nodded to the prostitutes.

  “Why? Is one of them a magic-user? A villain?”

  He studied them, whispering a few Italian words under his breath. “No. Just civilians.”

  “Then what am I supposed to do with them? The police come by and arrest them, and when they get out, they get right back here to turn more tricks.”

  He frowned. “This is a good lesson for you, Lainey. Would you stop a robber?”

  “Yes.”

  “Would you stop a rapist?”

  “Yes.”

  “Would you stop a pedophile?”

  “Yes.”

  “Would you stop a drug dealer?”

  “I guess. I mean, if he was selling to kids.”

  “Why are you qualifying it? A drug dealer is still a criminal.”

  “There are so many drug dealers in the world, for one thing. If I made it my mission to search out every one, I’d be in it for the long haul and still never get them all. You could never get rid of all the drug dealers in the city, Robert, just like you’d never be able to get rid of all crime.”

  “But if you saw a drug deal going down, would you try to stop it?”

  “In that case, yes.”

  “What about a purse snatcher? A mugger? They are all still criminals, victimizing the weak. The minute you begin qualifying which crimes you will stop and which you will not is the minute you start to not care about the people you are supposed to be protecting. You take a step closer to be coming more like them.”

  “Them who?”

  “Heroes who have lost their way, like the members of the Elite Hands of Justice.”

  “You know, you are training me to become a part of that team, Robert.”

  “I do not want you to become like them, Lainey. I want you to be something better. I want you to be part of what brings them back to what they once were—a group of people who would do anything, even give up their own lives, to save the world and its people from themselves. That is why I personally chose you. I saw your potential.”

  Before I could think of how to respond, I heard the screeching of tires in the distance, and gunshots. They were coming closer.

  I glanced over at Robert. “I’m on it.”

  Flying up into the air, I moved over the next building, dipped down toward the street, and sped down an alleyway. Two cars zoomed by me. One was trying to outrun the other, and both had guns blazing. Probably gang violence, and they were going to end up bringing innocent people into their fight by hitting someone with a stray bullet.

  I followed after them, dodging the bullets as I went. I landed on the roof of the second car, and in an instant, gunfire flew up at me. I managed to avoid the spray, and punched my fist through the roof right above the driver as if it were tinfoil, then peeled it back. I snatched the gun out of the passenger’s hand, wadded it up in a big metal ball, and tossed it aside. The passenger reached to take another gun from the guy in the backseat, and as he did so, I pulled back and hit him hard enough to knock him out. I tore the roof off, dived down, and punched the guy in the backseat—who was still staring in disbelief—before he could level his gun at me. It dropped to the floor as its owner slumped down, unconscious.

  I turned my attention to the driver, whose eyes were darting to the rearview mirror to stare at me. His hands were in a death grip on the steering wheel.

  I gave him a nasty smile. “Stop the car. Now.”

  He did, so fast I was almost tossed out of the now-roofless vehicle.

  Police sirens could be heard in the distance. The driver whimpered.

  “Stay there,” I said. “Don’t move.”

  “I’m not going back to prison.”

  “And I’m not getting out of the car. I’m the one with the gun back here, so stay put!” I ordered.

  The police pulled up behind us. The officers got out, guns at ready.

  I held my hands up. “I stopped them for you!” The driver started to get out of the car and I reached out, grabbed his shirt, and pulled him back.

  “What is this, cape night?” one of the officers said, coming over to take the criminal from me. He looked to be about my age and not yet worn down by the job. “We just got a call that the Reincarnist was turning over a car full of hoods.”

  “We’re working together. I’m Phenomenal Girl Five. And since you’re taking them into custody, I’ve gotta go.”

  “Typical big-time celebrity crime fighters,” said another cop, this one older and balding, with a sour expression. “Leave us with the clean-up while you swan off to save the day somewhere else.”

  “Leave her alone. They’re just tr
ying to help.”

  “They get paid a helluva lot more money than we do to help. All because they won the genetic lottery,” Bald Meanie said.

  “Where was the Reincarnist?” I asked the nice one.

  “About three blocks over.”

  “Thanks. I’ll see you around.”

  “I’ll keep an eye on the sky,” he said with a flirtatious smile.

  I flew off to find Robert, the two cops still loading up the hoods and arguing about capes as I went.

  “Take care of everything on your end?” Robert greeted me as I landed on the sidewalk next to him. He was handing out cards for an outreach program to the prostitutes we had noticed earlier.

  “Of course. Are we still on a magic hunt?”

  “Hopefully not much of a hunt,” he said. He nodded to a prostitute wearing a white vinyl skirt and bra and matching thigh-high boots, which, I was sad to notice, looked like something a former teammate of mine had worn. “Vivian here has seen our friend the Virus at a bar down on Randall Street.”

  “You gonna arrest him?” Vivian asked.

  “We might take him into custody for the police,” Robert said.

  “You gonna beat him up?” She looked hopeful.

  “It’s not out of the realm of possibility.” I cracked my knuckles for effect. Robert gave me a stern look.

  “He deserves it. Beat up my man Alvin once.”

  “See?” I said to Robert. “He deserves it.”

  He shook his head. “We should go. Good evening, ladies.” With a nod to them, he started to prepare the teleportation spell.

  “He’s hot,” Vivian said to me, nodding to my boss. “And a gentleman. You’re a lucky girl.”

  I started to correct her, then figured, why bother? “Thanks. Be careful out here.”

  Robert held out a hand to me as I approached. “Ready?”

  “As I’ll ever be.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  We popped into existence outside of a seedy-looking bar. Not a surprise, considering where we were.

  “Is this guy going to attack us the minute we step inside?” I asked as soon as I convinced myself I didn’t need to throw up.

  “I doubt it. He is supposed to have gone legit,” Robert said, holding the door open for me.

  Even in the dim bar light, I recognized the Virus. He was a bald barrel of a man whose arms were covered in tattoos of binary code. He slumped over a pool table, using a finger instead of a cue stick to point and shoot at the balls. His opponent just stared, unwilling to call him on the obvious cheating.

  “Cyrus!” Robert boomed in an enthusiastic voice. “How have you been?”

  The Virus’s head snapped to attention. He gave a slight smile. “It’s the Reincarnist!” he said, his voice pitched just a little too loud.

  The room went silent in reaction, and I saw a few people throw money on the bar and leave.

  “What can I do for ya?” the Virus said.

  “You heard about Syn?” Robert asked, looking down at the pool table. He bent to eye the billiard balls.

  “Yeah, someone took him out. You don’t think I had anything to do with that?”

  Robert’s eyes flicked up to him. “Did you?”

  “No, man, come on. You know I went legit.”

  “Maybe you had a relapse.”

  “Look, it’s no secret I wish very painful things on Syn, and I can’t say I don’t want to shake the person’s hand that offed him, but I haven’t seen him since I quit. And as much as I hated him, I wasn’t going to waste my time and energy tracking him down and taking him out. I have better things to do with my life.”

  “A level seven offed him,” I put in, wanting to be a part of the conversation.

  The Virus turned his attention on me. “So?”

  “You’re a seven, so that makes you a suspect.”

  He kept his eyes on me but addressed Robert. “Who’s your little blonde friend, man?”

  “My new partner.”

  The Virus walked over, looking me up and down like I was on display at a bakery. Suddenly he was no longer the lesser power he showed Robert; he was a dangerous villain who could easily take me out with magic before I could lift a finger.

  He got close, almost touching me, but I knew I couldn’t so much as flinch or he would take it as a sign of weakness. I stared him down and maintained a bored expression, even though my palms were sweating.

  “She’s something, isn’t she?” he said, face only inches away from mine. He inhaled, sniffing me. “Got a spark of the gift. Isn’t that interesting?” He looked back at Robert with a grin. “I’d love to see what she can do…Powers-wise, of course.”

  “Cyrus, do not make me hurt you in front of all of these people,” Robert said, his voice a steel edge.

  “Take it easy, Old One, I’m not going to hurt your pet.” The Virus turned his attention back to me. “I heard old Syn took a chunk out of you before he went down for good. I’ll bet that hurt.”

  “What, like this?” I head-butted him in the nose, and blood went everywhere. He howled and stumbled backward.

  “You’re gonna pay for that, bi—”

  “ENOUGH.” Robert held up both hands, and glowing, swirling blue fire sparked between them. All of the balls on the pool table shot into the pockets. The glasses and bottles at the bar clanked together, and a few shattered. A hard wind whipped through the room. My skin crawled and tingled like ants were crawling on it. The Virus took a step back.

  “Who killed Syn, Cyrus?”

  “I don’t know, man!”

  “Sapete e mi direte!” Robert’s eyes were now glowing blue with magic.

  “I don’t know, Old One, I swear!” Cyrus was holding his head in pain. “Stop! I don’t know! It was someone new, that’s all I know!”

  The wind died down and I felt a bit of the intensity in the room fade.

  “Who knows more?” Robert asked in a calm voice, as if we had all been sitting around discussing the weather.

  “I don’t know! Ask Alessandro, ask Fantazia, they’re the nosy ones. All I heard was a new player took out Syn. I’m out of the game, man, I’m out of the loop!”

  “Was Syn working for this new player?”

  “That’s the rumor, but like I said, I don’t know! Please!”

  Robert took a deep breath, and all the power went out in the room. Literally. First the presence of his magic left, then the lights, the jukebox, the television—everything went out.

  “Thank you, Cyrus. You have been most helpful,” Robert said.

  “Excuse me, but could one of you two fix the lights?” I heard a voice ask, possibly the bartender.

  “Luci sopra.”

  The lights snapped on and we all blinked.

  “Thanks, Reincarnist,” the bartender said.

  Robert nodded to him, flicking a few hundreds on the bar as he passed by. “For the damages.” He glanced at me. “Come along.”

  He didn’t say a word as he prepared the teleportation spell, but I knew he was angry by the set of his jaw and the fact that he kept avoiding my eyes.

  “Do not ever do that again,” he said the moment we appeared in front of the mansion.

  “What?” Lucky for me the adrenaline was chasing away the usual aftereffects. “What did I do?”

  “I had the situation under control with Cyrus, and you took that away with your grandstanding,” he said, his voice rising with every word.

  “He was up in my face trying to intimidate me, so I showed him I wasn’t intimidated.”

  “And then I had to intimidate him to stop him from hurting you. You picked a fight with someone bigger, meaner, and more powerful than you, and that would have gotten you killed had I not been there. You should not rely on your teammates to protect you.”

  That stung. “I don’t rely on anyone but myself, Robert. I’ve been fighting guys bigger and meaner than me for years now and I’ve survived for this long. I can take care of myself; God knows no one else is going to.” I whirled ar
ound to walk up the driveway.

  “You should have stayed out of it,” his calm voice called after me.

  I stopped, turning to look back at him. “I thought you were training me, wanted me involved in all of these cases.”

  “And I am training you to think in these kinds of situations, not to act rashly.” He brushed past me on the way to the door.

  “You got the information you wanted!” I snapped. “I don’t know why you’re so upset!”

  He turned back. “I expected more from you.” He slammed the door behind him.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  “Shut the hell up!” I screamed, raising my fist to punch the villain I had pinned down.

  “Is the swearing and hitting necessary?” Robert asked.

  “Yes, as a matter of fact, it is! You don’t know the restraint I’m using right now to keep from dropping the f-bomb.”

  “Swearing shows one’s limited vocabulary.”

  “No, swearing means you’ve run out of patience and are about to run your fist through someone’s skull,” I growled through clenched teeth. I addressed the villain: “If I were you, I’d start talking before you really piss me off.” My whole life I’d had to remember to pull my punches so I wouldn’t accidentally kill someone, especially in the heat of battle. But some days it was more difficult to control myself.

  This was one of those days.

  Okay, it had been one of those weeks.

  Things between Robert and me had been a little forced since our blowup over the Virus incident. We had continued patrolling and following any leads we could dredge up about Syn’s murderer. We weren’t making a lot of progress, and the tension between us was almost to the breaking point.

  The man I had pinned to the roof of an office building stared at me as if I had lost my mind. “Lady, you’ve got the wrong guy, I swear.”

  “Oh, really?” I lifted him off his feet and held him aloft.

  “Then what the hell’s this for?” I jerked a finger to the device that Robert held in his hand.

  “It’s just a garage door opener.”