Blackjack Dead or Alive (The Blackjack Series Book 3) (45 page)

Apogee shrugged and said, “I didn’t do it.”

We returned to Cicada and raced away from the Ashbourne estate, the low keening whine the only sound in the cockpit. Apogee flew the ship on manual, throwing all of her attention into the fifteen minute flight, her mind a thousand miles away. I left her to her thoughts and paced the cabin, wending between the seats. My first instinct was more research, peel away the layers, find the weakness, but I knew that would prove fruitless. We were outclassed. Even Global, with his nearly unfathomable level of power was the wrong guy for the job. All his energy powers would do is empower Brutal.

I was in the same boat, and though the reasonable thing to do would be to hole up and let Apogee work, I couldn’t do it. I wasn’t going to be on crowd control, either. I was going to look for my chance, and if I got it, I was going to kill him. He was too dangerous to live, too powerful to bury and pray the hole was deep enough. The others might show restraint, and it would get them killed. I didn’t have that problem.

“Thirty seconds,” Apogee said, and I climbed up to the flight deck. The ship had slowed while I was lost in thought and we were now circling on final approach.

“Where are we landing,” I said, unable to see the ground out the view screens with the Cicada’s nose up. Apogee had her eyes on the instruments, including monitors that showed the external camera feeds. On one of them I could see a silver gleaming ship parked on what looked like a large park. From our approach it seemed we would land in the middle of a baseball diamond.

“Is that?”

“Epic,” she said.

“Fancy that,” I said as we touched down. She shut Cicada down and stood, taking my arm.

“Are you okay?”

“I know the deal,” I said. “Follow your lead.”

Apogee smiled, her grab on me turning to a supple hold.

“I mean about the other thing,” she said. “About what happened back there?”

I looked out of the view screen and saw it was a beautiful day, with some clouds in the distance.

“No,” I said. There wasn’t any point to lying to her. She knew me too well.

She caressed my face, lingering around my chin.

“Maybe stay here,” Apogee said, but I shook my head.

“You’re going to need me and you know it,” I said and she approved, taking my hand.

“After this, you owe me a baby-sized omelet down in…” she paused, forgetting the name of the place. It was a small restaurant down in Baja California where I had promised to take her in the calm moments before the Hashima fight.

“Pancho’s,” I said, laughing. “It’s a deal.”

Despite what we were facing, what was in our horizon, she was still optimistic, still hopeful. I couldn’t help but feel the same way as I followed her to the gangway.

*              *              *              *

Waiting for us as we came down the ramp was Templar, a standing member of Superdynamic's team, Battle. The kid was in full regalia, with heavy armor on his legs and lower torso, his upper body replete with dancing animated tattoos. He seemed genuinely pleased to see me, a strange affectation that I didn't experience often.

"Sure is real nice to have you along for the ride, dude,” he said, patting me on the shoulder. I hadn’t seen him in a few days, but somehow it felt a lot longer. “Can you believe it, freaking Brutal?”

“Hopefully he doesn’t show,” Apogee said.

I caught myself looking around Cicada at the dozen or so other ships stationed in organized lines in the park. Among them were Epic’s ship and another Cicada - identical to the one we had flown across the Atlantic. When I caught Apogee’s eye, she shrugged, the hint of a smile touching her lips. In the distance was Paladin’s rocket on a hill overlooking the park and nearer still was Coach’s air car and Stellar’s astrocarriage.

“I thought no one else was coming,” I said faintly.

Templar chuckled, “That’s SuperDee for you, brother. All strategerie and shit. Here, hang on and I’ll take us in,” he said, sticking his arm out. Apogee took hold, a dragon tattoo weaving sinuously from his bicep, down his arm and circling her hand and wrist.

“It’s cool,” he said, noting my apprehension. Apogee smiled, delighted at my squeamishness. I reached out and grabbed Templar and reality warped. One second, we were in the park, standing amid the makeshift airfield, then as if squeezed through a viewing lens, we were transported to a busy street, a block from the main event. It would have taken longer to blink, but the effect was disconcerting – like we were cartoon characters stretching across a great divide.

We popped out of nothingness into a swarm of people walking East Wheelock Street, almost causing a scene. One woman fainted and a man screamed that we were under attack, but the sight of Apogee calmed everyone. We were across from the Green, a large park interwoven with crisscrossing walkways used by the thousands of event goers. In the middle of the park was an open circle, the fulcrum of the pavement roads within the Green. There, they had raised a platform in the round, with celebrants surrounding it. Beyond was the famous Baker-Berry Library – the most visible symbol of the University – built almost a hundred years ago and modeled after Independence Hall in Philadelphia.

“You alright,” Templar said.

“I’m good,” I said, the disorientation fading.

“I’ll recon the crowd for Brutal,” Apogee said and was gone.

Templar watched her speed off in awe. The guy had just transported us several miles from the park to this location and he was amazed with Apogee traveling at super speed. Then again, he was probably in awe for other reasons.

“So where’s Superdynamic?” I said, shaking him from his droll glare.

He looked back and me and gave me a bashful smile, “Sorry, dude. That’s some woman.”

I nodded.

“The big guy’s there,” he said, pointing at one of the figures floating over the events. Only then did I recognize him, and the others – and the reason the crowd was as excited as it was.

Above us soared heroes.

Along with Superdynamic were Stellar, Paladin, Epic in a zero-G rig, FTL, Damage and Dominus…hell, almost every big name hero was in attendance. If Brutal showed, he was going to get his face wiped in the mud.

I was totally unnecessary here, a fifth wheel. With the firepower they had assembled, the raw number of supers represented, no villain would dare make a showing, even one so powerful as Brutal.

Templar said, “Yeah, I got him here,” then dug out an earpiece seemingly out of nowhere and handed it to me. I stared at it with suspicion.

“It’s good,” he said, smiling. “Dee wants to talk to you.”

“So that’s where you get your sword, huh?” I said, referring to the huge-ass sword he normally fought with. I’d seen him summon it from the thin air before, but not from up close.

“It’d blow your mind, dude.”

I stuck the earpiece in place and a second later, Superdynamic chimed in, “You sure know how to get a group of heroes motivated, Blackjack.”

Looking around, I saw that among the crowd were other heroes, some talking and signing autographs with their fans, others on more vigilant patrol, giving the event goers friendly waves.

“This is all because of me?”

Superdynamic laughed, “No, it’s to catch you. Well, that was the initial idea since you ran off stealing my favorite ship.”

“You bastard,” I said, unable to keep from laughing with him. “Let me run off so they would have to ‘chase’ me – since I’m such a rotten sonofabitch.”

“Something like that,” he said. “Epic and I talked them into coming here first, since Global had you ‘handled’. Figured since we’re coming after you, might as well protect the Senator for the day.”

A ruckus erupted from the audience in the round. As if on cue, Senator Ted Ashbourne received a hearty introduction from one of the school’s deans. I’d never seen the guy in person, and even though I was a hundred feet from him, you could feel the man’s presence. He was tall, maybe taller than me, and wide shouldered despite being in his seventies. He had a full shock of thick silver hair cut in a style that managed to be slick and dignified, with a tailored gray pinstripe Brioni and a practiced wave to the crowd.

I was shocked to see Global flanking Ashbourne, suited in his iconic costume, looking stern and accessible all at once. I guess that trick he pulled back at the mansion was some sort of teleportation spell. At first, I thought it was stupid for him to come, given the obvious advantage Brutal had over him, but he could probably spirit Ashbourne away quickly and with less fuss than anyone but Templar, who was much less well known.

Between him, Superdynamic, and the nigh ridiculous lineup of heroes guarding the event, there was no way Brutal was going to poke his head out. He was crazy, but had proven to be far from stupid. I ducked my head to leave, but Templar barred my way.

“What is it?” I said, as I tried again to bypass him. I wasn’t needed here; all I could do was make things worse. Either Brutal would attack and use me to charge up, or some industrious citizen would recognize me. A lot of the heroes here had been in the White Council, but some of them hadn’t and would attack me on sight.

“I have to go,” I said, but someone grabbed me from behind, someone much, much bigger than me, wrapping me in a bear hug and lifting me effortlessly off the ground.

“My nigga,” Moe said, squeezing the shit out of me. Big Moe spun me and hugged me again. He was in tears, his massive arms wrapping around my head as if I was a little boy.

“Moe,” I began, but he jumped in.

“You have no idea how glad I am to see, you, dog,” he said. “That shit was so fucked up.”

He paused, looking up at the sky as if for inspiration.

“I don’t know, man. I was you; I’d be so fucking pissed.”

I put my arm on his shoulder, “It’s alright.”

“No,” he shouted, drawing some strange and fearsome looks from nearby attendees. “Fuck that shit, you hear? We fucked you bad, and it’s my fault as much as anyone.”

“Dee had his reasons,” I said.

“Fuck that. Niggas don’t play each other like that, you hear me,” he finished; raising his voice as if Superdynamic could hear him a hundred feet in the air.

“That Moe?” Dee said, overhearing through my earpiece.

“Yeah,” I said.

“Let him vent,” Superdynamic said. “He took it hard.”

Moe’s face was a broken thing, streaming with tears.

“I’m looking at you and I don’t believe it. I thought you was dead. Fuck me, man. They said that shit went down.”

I squeezed his shoulder, “Moe, it’s going to be okay. Right now I have to go. I have to-“

I paused, not sure why.

Moe was in tears in front of me, Templar beside him with a sheepish grin. Around me were two, maybe three-dozen of the world’s greatest heroes; all with the mission, to protect Senator Ashbourne from a madman.

And that’s what made me feel ill at ease. This was the kind of situation anyone would have avoided. Baron Blitzkrieg, Primal, the Ladies of Pain, all of the biggest and loudest villains – they would have run off in an instant, avoided a fight against the firepower Superdynamic was displaying.

But not Brutal.

He’d consider it lucky. He’d look at it as an invitation if anything, a chance to show the world how unsafe we all were. If the Senator couldn’t be saved surrounded by the finest heroes, personally protected by the last remaining of the good Original Seven, then what chance did anyone else have?

He was here, somewhere among the crowd - and he was about to do the deed.

“You alright, dog?”

“He’s here,” I said keying both coms – the one I shared with Apogee and the new one with Superdynamic his team.

“You see him,” Epic responded before the others.

“Not yet,” I said, and without realizing it, I started running, breaking through the crowd. They were still cheering the Senator, who hadn’t had a chance to start his prepared remarks. And that’s when I realized what Brutal was waiting for, as I pushed through the people. Some complained, others I threw aside, making fast headway for the dais on the round, Moe and Templar close behind me.

He was waiting for silence. Brutal didn’t intend to let the Senator speak, instead making his act the final word in Ashbourne’s legacy, an exclamation point dripping with blood.

As I rushed toward the stage, I passed an alarmed Coach, almost knocking her on her ass, and I started to realize that I was moving as fast as I could through the mass of humanity in my way to the Senator.

“Oh, hell,” I heard Coach mutter as I slowed down, making sure I wouldn’t hurt anyone inadvertently. “Here we go.”

“Dog, what’s up?” Moe said, though he was a few feet behind me, tangled with the ruffled people I was leaving in my wake.

A small beam of light drew my attention to the Baker-Barry library tower – the glint of light off of a sniper scope. I knew that the Senator’s Secret Service detail had to be on the job, tasked with protecting him before Global and the rest of us showed up – so a sniper’s rifle jutting from the tower wasn’t a big deal, but it didn’t add up logistically. I was heading towards the Senator, with the tower almost directly behind me, and I caught the reflection down in the crowd, aimed over me, at the dais.