PHENOMENAL GIRL 5 Page 9

I gave him a shake. “So you just happened to be wearing military fatigues and carrying a garage door opener while hanging out on the roof of a building? And it’s another massive coincidence that some lunatic named Death Dealer just called city hall and told them he would blow up the elementary school if they didn’t wire one hundred million dollars to a Cayman Islands account? Oh, and oddly enough, your name is Bill Wyte, which is one of Death Dealer’s aliases. Yeah, those are just random quirks of fate. Do I look stupid to you?”

  “Well, you are blonde,” he muttered.

  “Funny man, you just said the wrong damn thing.” I gripped him harder and flew straight up into the sky. It’s a bit of a pull when you’re carrying someone else, but that’s where super-strength comes in handy.

  “What are you doing?” Robert asked, floating in the air next to me using some sort of spell.

  “Mr. Wyte here thinks threatening to blow up innocent children is a joking matter, so he’s going to see what I like to do for fun,” I growled.

  “I do not think you are in your right frame of mind.”

  “Oh, I’m not, that’s obvious.” I climbed the sky harder.

  “If you are going to work with the Elite Hands of Justice, you cannot fly off the handle like this. Someone is always planning to blow up the world or kill innocent people, and you have to learn not to let it get to you and do your job.”

  “I’m doing my job, alright.”

  Death Dealer, who had been silent, spoke up. “I don’t know what you’re planning, do-gooder bitch, but I don’t scare. And that actually is my garage door opener. The bomb detonator is right here.” He twisted the stone on his ring. “Say good-bye to the kiddies.”

  I dropped him. He let out a girlish scream as he fell.

  “Tempo del freeze.” Robert glared at me as everything around us stopped. There were no sounds of traffic and people below. There wasn’t even the sound of the Death Dealer crying like a baby. I looked down at the villain, who was frozen in mid-fall. Robert had performed some sort of pause time spell.

  “You disappoint me, Lainey.”

  “He was going to blow up kids, Robert!”

  “And I neutralized the bombs already.”

  “He doesn’t know that.”

  “But we do. You cannot go around losing your temper and killing villains. We serve justice, we do not mete out punishments.”

  I knew he was right but wasn’t ready to back down. “The justice system sucks. Why else are all of these criminals back out on the streets?”

  He studied me. “Your pure soul is probably turning black as we speak.”

  “That’s probably from having it snacked on.” My anger was starting to fade, leaving me feeling embarrassed for losing my temper in the first place.

  “I wonder. Maybe…”

  “What?”

  “Nothing. Are you going to do the right thing and go catch him? Let him serve his trial?”

  I sighed. “Fine. The justice system better not screw this one up, because I won’t be this nice to him the second time around.”

  “Letting him plummet to his death while you argue with me is nice?”

  “He’s not plummeting. You did some sort of pause-button spell to stop his fall; I could tell right away. My skin tingled.”

  Robert cocked his head, interested. “You can sense the magic?”

  “That, and you speaking random Italian. Oh, and the no sound thing is another dead giveaway.”

  He ignored my sarcasm. “I froze time around us, but cannot do it for very long. Go catch him before I have to drop the spell.”

  I flew down to where the evil Bill Wyte hovered in the air, still frozen. He wasn’t that far away from me; I could have caught up without the time displacement.

  I grabbed him by the shirt just as I felt a cool tingle wash over my skin, and then he was shrieking again. The game was back on.

  “Oh, stop it, you big wuss,” I said, flying past one of the large office buildings downtown and heading toward the police station.

  “You crazy bitch!” he screamed. “You dropped me!”

  “And I caught you only at my partner’s insistence. I would have let you become a little splatter on the concrete if I had my way. People who try to hurt little kids just for something as meaningless as money…”

  “It was one hundred million dollars!”

  “You’d better pray we get to the police station pretty damn fast.”

  Robert must have somehow contacted Pendergast, because he was waiting on the roof of the police station when I arrived carrying the sullen villain.

  “Good afternoon, Phenomenal Girl Five,” the detective greeted me.

  “Hi, Pendergast.” I landed, setting Billy-boy down a little harder than necessary. “Got your handcuffs ready?”

  He handed me the apparatus and I snapped them on Death Dealer, who was whining about wanting his lawyer.

  Robert floated down next to me. “Do you want a statement, Pendergast?”

  “Just a short one. If Phenomenal Girl Five would help me take the prisoner into custody, I’d appreciate it.”

  “Not a problem.” I jerked the villain to his feet. “Let’s go introduce you to your buff and dangerous cellmate.”

  “How about a trip to The Grind?” Robert asked as we left the police station.

  “Why?” Aside from our one dinner, nightly patrol, and crime scenes, I hadn’t seen him go out anywhere. In the two short weeks I’d been working with him, I had made multiple trips to the coffee house for my caffeine fix.

  “I think you could use it. And I want to talk to you about what happened.” His voice was hard with barely concealed anger.

  “Yell at me is more like it.”

  “Then you should be happy we will be in a public forum so I will not yell.”

  I was so getting fired.

  The pop u lar non-chain coffee house was situated in the town’s shopping district. I kept silent as Robert teleported us to a small alleyway across the street from it.

  The warm and comforting smell of brewing coffee greeted me as soon as I pushed open the door. Unlike some coffee houses that had a dark and depressed atmosphere, The Grind was bright and welcoming. It inspired you to pull up a chair, read a book, and relax, not to check to make sure the goth students around you weren’t real vampires.

  The clerk behind the counter smiled in greeting. “Hello, Lainey.” Taking in my appearance, he whistled. “Damn, you coming home really late after a night of clubbing or something?”

  I pulled my jacket closer, realizing my costume looked out of place surrounded by businessmen and women who didn’t like the corporateness of the big coffee chains. And that it was very pathetic that the clerk and I were on a first-name basis already. “Oh, just laundry day, George. You know how it is.”

  He nodded. “I’ve worn some crazy things because I was too lazy to hit the Laundromat. You want the usual?”

  “Yes, please.”

  “And for you, sir?”

  I jumped, realizing Robert had sneaked up close behind me in that quiet way he had.

  “None of those elaborate and overly sweet drinks. Just an espresso, please.”

  I watched as George prepared my non-fat, sugar-free caramel latte, no foam, and Robert’s espresso. When he set the cups in front of us, I looked over at Robert.

  “I have no money.”

  He didn’t even seem surprised. “Really?”

  “Do you see room for cash in these pants?”

  George burst out laughing.

  Robert handed him some money. “Convenient excuse.”

  “You can search me if you don’t believe me.” I picked up my cup and headed to the back corner of the room, so that my firing wouldn’t be witnessed by the half a dozen patrons clustered around the small tables at the front of the store, pretending to read the newspapers or tapping away on laptops and sneaking glances at us.

  Robert sat. “Lainey, I am concerned about your behavior since the Syn incident. I am beginn
ing to wonder if the Elite Hands of Justice and you are a proper fit.”

  My stomach plummeted. I’d known it was coming, and the thought of losing everything I’d worked so hard for hurt. But it was his disapproval that hit the hardest. “I’m having a bad day, okay?”

  “You cannot attempt to kill people on a bad day. That is not professional. That is not how we do things.”

  “I know. I’m sorry. It just really got to me, this case. I can’t stand anyone trying to hurt children, especially after what happened with Syn…”

  He sighed. “You cannot save everyone. You cannot be everywhere at once. Even if you live forever, there will be lives that slip through your fingers. The question is, can you move on and try to help the next person, or will you let it haunt you for the rest of your life? Do you have any idea how insane I would be by now if I dwelled on everyone that I failed to save over the years? The ones I remember, anyway?”

  “I can’t shut myself down, either,” I said, my voice barely audible even to myself. “I can’t become emotionless like you.” The instant the words were out of my mouth, I regretted them.

  “I am emotionless?” he said, his tone frosty.

  Well, my big mouth had gotten me this far. I took a deep breath and plowed ahead. “You live in that mansion all alone except for your butler and what ever person you train for two years and then move along to the next one. You very rarely go out, and when you do, it is related to work in some way. You don’t speak to anyone in the EHJ unless it’s on business, and the only person who ever makes personal calls to you is a demented ex-girlfriend.” At his raised eyebrow, I nodded. “You don’t have to be the world’s smartest person to know there used to be something between you and Victoria. No one throws a hissy fit like she did unless they’re an ex or in major need of therapy.”

  “I would not discount that last option,” he said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

  “The point is, it’s only business with you.”

  “And that is how it has to be, Lainey,” he said, setting his lips in a firm line. “That is the only way I can live my life. Like I said before, sometimes it is better to be alone.”

  It occurred to me I had no idea if we were talking about the distance he kept between himself and the rest of the world, or the strange budding chemistry between us that existed even when we were angry at each other. Or both. Judging from the way he sipped his espresso and avoided my eyes, he didn’t know either.

  “You can’t tell me White Heat or Aphrodite don’t get too involved in their cases and don’t want to ice a villain once in a while,” I said, getting back to the subject at hand.

  “Ice?” A hint of a smile came out at my particular slang.

  “You know what I mean.”

  “I never said they do not have those feelings. But they do not act on them.”

  “Neither did I!”

  “Because I stopped time.”

  “I would have caught him before he hit the ground.”

  “So you say.”

  “I know I would have.”

  “We cannot have a vigilante on the team, Lainey. If we wanted one, we would have hired Markus Vale instead of you.”

  “You did not just compare me to him.” At his silent, condemning look, I exploded. “Markus Vale is a psychopath! Are you saying I’m becoming a psychopath?” I wasn’t just being dramatic. Markus Vale was legendary among heroes—a former soldier who had decided to punish the “terrorists” in our country. Yeah, he took out criminals, but he also took out jaywalkers. Anyone who broke a law, no matter how small, was a criminal in his mind and deserved a death sentence.

  He cleared his throat. “Idealism is a slippery slope. Once you begin to descend…”

  “I don’t need this.” I stood up. “Don’t worry about firing me, I quit!”

  I downed my coffee in one gulp—no sense in letting it go to waste—and walked out, leaving Robert sitting alone at the table.

  I made it a few blocks before I felt the tears begin to burn in my eyes. Swiping them away in anger, I walked faster. My emotions were in turmoil. I couldn’t believe I had acted the way I had, losing my temper both with the Virus and Death Dealer, fighting with Robert, and quitting the job I had worked for my whole life. I did know better than to lose control with a villain; it was one of the first lessons I had learned in school. They killed and ruined lives. Real heroes were better than that. And I especially knew better than to lose my temper. Because of my powers, control had to be my top priority. I had even been told to watch myself in, um, intimate situations. Think watching the sexually transmitted diseases or the male/female development video in health class is an embarrassment? Try having your health teacher explain to you that you could snap your partner’s back or worse in the heat of the moment. No wonder I didn’t lose my virginity until I was in college; the guys that knew me were terrified.

  And I never should have bashed Robert for being a loner. Who was I to judge? I was just as much of an outsider as he was. No matter how hard I pushed myself, no matter how much I focused on my career, deep inside me that lonely and awkward orphan still existed. And any comments about me becoming like Markus Vale came out of good intentions. He was worried about me, not trying to be cruel. Maybe I was just unused to having someone who cared enough to worry about me.

  I ducked into an alley and then flew up to the rooftops. Finding a suitable one, I plunked down and had a good cry.

  My skin tingled a split second before I heard Robert’s voice. “It is okay, Lainey. It was bound to happen.”

  I quickly wiped my face, but knew it was useless; my red eyes and nose would show I had been crying. “My washing out?”

  He shook his head and handed me a handkerchief from his pocket. “No, succumbing to stress. It happens to everyone. That is why you train for two years. After all, this is a very stressful job, even if you have been doing it for years prior.”

  “Everyone has a freak out?” I said, wiping my eyes.

  He nodded. “You have done better than I expected after all that has happened with Syn.”

  “I wanted to be tough, to prove I could handle anything.”

  “Why?”

  “To impress you.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I wanted you to like me!” I blurted. “It’s not like I have a lot of friends to back me up. And if we were friends, maybe you wouldn’t tell the EHJ I couldn’t hack it. But after what happened with the Virus and now today, I’ll understand if you tell them to let me go.”

  He sat down next to me. “Lainey, I think you can more than just ‘hack’ it. There is potential for greatness in you. You could be one of the heads of the Elite Hands of Justice one day. That is part of the reason that I do expect more out of you than any of the other partners I have trained. Your idealism and determination can be one of our greatest assets. But idealism can also take a very dark turn.”

  He reached out and brushed a tear away from my cheek, an intimate gesture. “You are right, our justice system is not perfect, and criminals escape or get off through loopholes every day. It can make you think that all of our work is for nothing. That is why many heroes stop caring and focus on notoriety, like the EHJ, or burn out and walk away. Or worse, become like Markus Vale.” He laced his fingers in front of him. “We fight the darkness of mankind every day, Lainey, and it is important to not become consumed by it.”

  I was aware of how close we were sitting. “You really think I could be great?”

  “You are well on your way.” He leaned in and my heart pounded an excited rhythm in my ears. Was he really going to kiss me?

  He stopped short and brushed a kiss on my forehead. “Now, if you are not going to quit, I think we should be heading home. It has been a long day and it is not even noon yet.”

  “Okay.” I dealt with the disappointment of another moment that we had both let pass by as I braced for the teleportation spell.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  “We are going to do something new to
day,” Robert said as I met him out in the garden a few days later for our daily centering kata.

  “Why am I suddenly afraid?”

  “You have no reason to be. We have been working the Syn case since it began, and are both succumbing to the stress. After your incident the other day with the Death Dealer, I thought we could use a slight change of pace.”

  I winced at the reminder. “So what are we doing?”

  “Training exercises. Since your powers are primarily physical, I thought I would test your reactions, limits, and strengths and weaknesses in that area.”

  “Oh, God, we’re not going to spar, are we? Because let me tell you, based on personal experience, the only thing that ever accomplishes is spinning off into real fist fights.” I’d seen too many of my male teammates almost kill each other because they got tagged too hard during a sparring session and assumed it was done on purpose.

  “Trust me.”

  He led the way through the grounds to a large building I’d assumed was a stable. Wrong. Inside was a state-of-the-art training facility that looked like something straight out of a comic book, with not only every workout machine known to man, but also a chamber with what looked like rotating hoops in the air and floor, and strange metal columns that popped up from the floor at odd intervals.

  “You’re not serious,” I said. I also wondered what he kept this for.

  “It is like an obstacle course. You have to fly through the hoops and dodge the columns to get to the other end of the room and push that button. It shuts down everything. Your objective is to do this without touching a hoop or column before time runs out.” He pointed out video cameras. “We will record it so you can see what mistakes you make.”

  “I’m not going to make any mistakes. It’s easy,” I scoffed.

  “Alright. Let me see you do it, then.”

  I positioned myself at the other end of the room. “I’m ready. Let’s go!”

  He pushed the button and everything started up. I watched for a moment, getting into the rhythm of the machinery, and then went for it.

  I passed through the first hoop easy, curving my body to miss the column that shot up just as I flew overhead, and dove toward the ground to pass through the second hoop. I was right. It was easy. You just had to watch for the pattern.