Sanctuary (23 page)

Where was Natalie’s building?? I had no idea! I was adrift and off course.

I made frantic fists and mashed the buttons. Nothing happened. The wings were so tight they resisted release! I dropped my hands to my sides, and pressed again. Click! The wings zipped back into my pants.

And I fell like a rock. Face first.

Oh yeah! Gravity!

I released the parachute. Pow! It filled and nearly jerked the vest clean off. I began drifting towards the ground at a much more acceptable rate, gasping for breath like a fish. The webbing between my legs zipped home when I clicked my heels, and directly beneath my knees I spotted Natalie’s building spiraling upwards.

My chute was smaller than average and so I dropped faster. I swung like a drunken pendulum, hauling on harness lines and overcorrecting. Natalie never saw me coming until I almost bowled her over. I slid to a stop on the astroturf, barely keeping my balance and dignity.

“Holy…!” She clapped hands over her mouth. “Where…how…?”

I hauled the chute back into my vest (by pulling on two chords Lee built into the front pockets). It disappeared with a whisper.

She nodded with a big beautiful smile. “That was incredibly shocking. That’s why this city has Outlaw fever. Rather I should say, the whole world.”

“Hello Natalie.”

“Hello Outlaw.” She wrapped her arms around me and stayed there. “How I’ve missed you.”

“Why are you up here alone?”

“I was pondering the universe, of course. Debating reasons for our existence. Wondering if other professions are more fulfilling. Examining depression and solitude. The usual.”

“This late? It’s after midnight.”

“That’s the best time to be disconsolate.” She sighed into my chest.

“Only evil things happen after midnight. At least from my experience. Evil things and lonely thoughts.”

“I can’t sleep.”

“Why not?”

She shrugged. “Nobody can sleep. Haven’t you read the articles? We’re all too worried. The whole globe is fixated on Hyper Humanity, and the world’s first super villain and how he’s going to destroy us all.”

“Nah. I won’t let him.”

“I know you won’t.” She laughed, a cute breathy snicker through her nose.

“Are you still getting calls, asking for me?”

“Deluged. My publicist had to get a new phone. You’re a war hero, a tabloid fixture, a religious idol, and our only hope.” She was smiling. “Possibly the most fascinating person of all time. Of course people are calling.”

I shook my head, disengaging from her. I sat down, suddenly feeling heavy with the weight of her words. “The truth isn’t very exciting. It’s going to be a tremendous disappointment, if my identity comes out.”

She sat opposite me and took one of my gloved hands in both of hers. “You’re wrong, sweetie. I know the Outlaw better than most, and I’m more fascinated than anyone.”

I glanced around at the roof. I’d made a lifetime of memories up here. She was the first girl who ever kissed me, and it was a doozy, and it happened right here. “I’ve always liked this spot. You get to enjoy the city without being touched by it.”

“It’ll be destroyed soon, if you believe the sensationalist news channels.”

I grunted, wishing I could say otherwise. But the message I received from the Chemist wouldn’t let me. He was planning on enlarging his territory soon. “Maybe. Maybe not. We can fight. I’m tired of having beautiful things taken from me.”

She perked up. “Are you referring to me?”

“I never had you.”

“Oh. Yes. Yes you did. A thousand times yes. I was yours forever. In many ways, I still am.”

I didn’t want to smile, but I couldn’t help it. Being adored, even unwarrantedly so, was a hard thing to ignore.

She twittered wickedly and poked my ribs. “Outlaw! Are you blushing under your disguise? Did I embarrass the mighty and fearsome vigilante?”

“The Outlaw does not blush. He doesn’t even like saying the word.”

“Has your reluctant damsel seen the error of her ways?”

“…my what?”

“The girl you love. Does she return your affection yet?”

I took a deep breath and let it out against the mask. “No. Maybe a little. I think. I hope. But she’s very attached to someone else.”

“This girl you love, is she an idiot? Do you love a fool, Outlaw?”

I chuckled. “No. Katie is the smartest girl in our…she’s one of the smartest people I know.”

“Katie.” She said the word experimentally, like hearing it for the first time. “Katie.”

“Yes. Katie.”

“Give me her phone number.”

“What?!”

“Now.” She held out her hand and snapped her fingers. “I want to talk some sense into this intelligent girl brazen enough to reject the Outlaw.”

“She doesn’t know I’m the Outlaw.”

“You haven’t told her??”

I shook my head. “That’s going to be a tough conversation.”

She stared at me for a long moment, a piercing gaze with churning gears. She opened her mouth to speak, paused, sucked at her teeth briefly, and then said, “The girl you saved last year. Up here on this roof. Her name was Katie, if memory serves.”

“Yes.”

“Is that the same girl?”

“Yes.”

Her mouth curved up in a victorious smile. “I’m getting closer to the truth. I’m tight on your trail, Outlaw. I actually met the girl. In the hospital. Did I tell you?”

“She told me she met you,” I lied. It was partially true. I’d been there when they met, lying in a hospital bed as the world swirled around me.

“She’s very pretty.”

“I think so.”

“And she doesn’t know you rescued her?”

“No. I couldn’t tell her. There were complicating factors.”

“Like what?”

“Her captor is still at large. I know who it is, but I can’t prove it. And he threatened to kill her if I ‘snitched.’”

“Do you believe him?”

“Not anymore.”

“I want to tell her.”

“Natalie,” I growled, and she started and grinned. “I will tell her.”

“Okay! I’m just envious and angry at her, that’s all.”

“Don’t be. You found a good man. A great man. Not many guys are worth your affection. But I think Isaac Anderson comes close. He was brave that night, facing down angry gods. He was prepared to die.”

“Ugh.” She let her head drop onto my shoulder. Somehow during our conversation she’d gotten closer. She was good at that. “Don’t remind me. I chewed through three sweaters that awful night, staring at the news, waiting for word. He was the only…normal human that made it out, right? From the gunfight on that college campus?”

I nodded. “As far as I know.”

“Why on earth did you let him go into that place?”

“He’s not a man that takes orders well, from what I’ve seen.”

She fixed her hair by pushing it all behind her ears, and she issued a deep sigh. “What bizarre and frightening men you two are. I am drawn to the attractive and the foolish, apparently.”

Better than the attractive and the evil, I thought. Like Tank. Stupid Tank. He and Katie should have returned from the movies over an hour ago. I hoped he was home by now. Thinking about him staying at her place past midnight made every part of my body hurt. I could ask Puck to locate him. But I’d rather not know, actually.

Natalie North said, “Time Magazine is going to name you and the Chemist both the person of the year.”

“Yippee.”

She laughed and pushed me. “Don’t you care?”

“Not at all. I have bigger things to worry about. I’m barely passing…err, I mean…you know…I’m barely sleeping.”

“Do you want to be interviewed?”

“Nope.”

She squeezed my hand. “Everyone has a story to tell. Yours is the most fascinating of all time.”

“I’ll let you know if I change my mind. They should interview Captain FBI instead.”

“He can’t. He’s besieged. By the government and the media. I’m not positive which is worse. We can’t communicate, or they’d know immediately. Our secret would be out. And there’s no way they’d permit an interview.” Somewhere in the midst of her words, her face fell two octaves, from happiness to anxiety.

“He did his job well. What does the government want with him?”

“You. But he’s not giving away any information, which has him in hot water. But he’s their only link to you, and you’ve become a hero even to the soldiers.”

“Oh yeah?” I grinned, which may or may not have been detectable through the mask. “That’s nice to hear. Even the soldiers?”

“The police and the military whole-heartedly support you. They all wear red bandanas around their necks or belts, which is against dress code or whatever, but they all do it.” She pointed at a long Outlaw banner festooned across a nearby building. “The Outlaw Fights For Us,” she quoted. The words rippled as the banner flapped like a cape.

I grunted, unable to find any words. Gratitude. They were grateful. What a powerful emotion. “I’m glad people know. That I’m trying to help.”

“The people love you.”

“Maybe too much.”

“
Definitely
too much. I know I do.”

“Tell them I said thanks?”

“Tell them yourself. It would mean the world to everyone if you’d do that interview.” She squeezed my hands and searched my eyes. “You know?”

“Maybe.”

I texted Lee and told him the wing-suit worked, and five days later he still talked about it. Our crowd at the lunch table wasn’t sure we believed him until Thursday, when Channel Four news released footage from their tower camera. They superimposed a red circle around the Outlaw, highlighting Friday night’s harrowing journey across the skyline. The flight was short and hard to see, and the Outlaw quickly dropped out of sight but not before providing Lee enough visual evidence to vault himself into stardom. Lee really HAD made the Outlaw a wing-suit?!

Our lunch table was three chairs deep. The cafeteria monitors shook their heads at us, but eventually shrugged and smiled and left us alone.

“The monitors let all these kids sit here because of you,” Katie told me. We were sharing a seat again and her left calf was touching my right calf and I swear she was doing it on purpose. She was a dancer and runner, so her legs were good and I was in heaven.

“What do I have to do with it?”

“You’re the most popular boy in school.”

I protested, “I don’t even know these people. And I don’t think I’m that popular. It doesn’t feel like it.”

The cute blonde girl beside me smiled and said, “Yes you are, silly.” I really needed to learn her name. She’d been sitting beside me for weeks, and it was WAY too late to ask now.

“And besides,” Katie continued, pointedly ignoring the blonde girl, which made me love her all the more because it hinted at jealousy. “You are a nationally-ranked quarterback. You are being given perks.”

“The cafeteria lady is
not
the girl I want to give me perks.”

The beautiful skin of her cheeks turned pink and she playfully bumped her leg harder into mine. “You want a perk? Maybe you’ll get lucky and my butt will fall completely asleep on this stupid chair and I’ll have to sit in your lap.”

My heart quickened. “Could be dangerous. You might like it. And I’d certainly never let go.”

Lee banged his hand on the table and we all jumped. “You’re not even listening!”

“Sorry Lee,” Katie apologized. “Please continue.”

“See here?” He jabbed a finger at his iPad and glared. The rest of his audience was already silent. On screen, the gliding figure waffled uncertainly on repeat. “The Outlaw’s not used to having triple the surface area. He hasn’t figured out how to use subtle movements.”

I leaned in and scrutinized the screen. “What do you mean subtle movements?”

“Everything is exaggerated, bro, when you’re going a hundred miles an hour. He needs to make smaller corrections.”

“A hundred?! He was going that fast?”

“Maybe a little faster. It’s a wild ride, dude.”

Katie sighed deeply. “He’s so fantastic. I miss him a lot.”

“But he’s
not
flying!” Lee scolded us all in turn with fiery gaze. “Don’t believe the Outlawyers or the blogs. He can’t fly. It’s
my
wing-suit.”

Samantha Gear, in a loud and irritated voice, asked, “Lee, did you explain to the big
OAF
that he could have died? And that someone with
zero
base jumps shouldn’t try a wing-suit?”

“Oh Gear,” I groaned, “Don’t be such a
mom
. It’s not like you’re the Outlaw’s
parent
. Jeez.”

For the longest second of my life, her eyes blazed and she debated between smiling and shoving her apple down my throat. Finally, after an eternity, she decided not to kill me. Instead she smiled dangerously and said, “Not yet.”

“I dunno, Samy-girl,” Croc was saying. “I think it looks wicked fun. Well done, mate. Next time, Lee, tell the Outlaw I want to tag along.”

“Mitch.” Lee shook his head with a condescending chuckle. “Dude. This is only for Hyper Humans, bro. I designed the vest and wing-suit specifically for him, and they only work for him because he’s a god and he could survive a fall.”

Samantha snarled, “No he couldn’t and no he’s not.”

“Either way, mate. I want one. How much?”

Lee asked, “How much what?”

“Hundos, Lee! Crikey! Hundees! Pineapples! Money! How much would it cost for you to make me one?”

“Yeah man,” Cory nodded solemnly, briefly looking up from his reuben sandwich. “Make me one too. I’m down.”

“You…you idiots aren’t even listening…” Lee’s exasperation at dealing with mortals was monumental. He pinched the bridge of his nose and took deep breaths. “…I don’t know how to explain this to you…You can’t have one. You. Would. Die.”

“All the same,” Croc grinned and all the girls at the table smiled with him. I almost did too. “How much did it cost to make?”

“I don’t know, Mitchell.” Lee steepled his fingers and closed his eyes. “Off the top of my head, I’d guess…two thousand for materials. Plus thirty hours of work.”

“Thirty?!” I yelped. “Thirty hours? That’s way too much!”

“Whatever dude!” he thundered, red in the face. “It’s a sophisticated piece of aeronautical equipment! They take a long time to make!”