The Suns of Liberty: Legion: A Superhero Novel (29 page)

Arbor was grinning like the Cheshire Cat. Sixty-five miles
away, so was William Howke.

CHAPTER 29

LAKE TAHOE, CALIFORNIA

B
ecky
opened the oven and pulled out the roasted veggies. Fiona’s favorites. She’d
been pretty hard on the girl the last few weeks and she’d clearly gotten
nowhere. It was time for a different tact.

     The sweet aroma of garlic and parmesan wafted toward
the teenager, and Fiona was finding it hard not to drool. Becky knew she was famished.

     Becky laid the cooking tray on the hot pads and
slipped off her mittens. She drew in a deep breath as she opened the cabinet,
reached for the plates, and asked the big question. “So, is New York in your
travel plans now?”

     Fiona cocked her head and scrunched her nose. “New York?”

     “The Council. They obviously wanted to hurt you,”
Becky said, wishing now she’d never asked. From the girl’s reaction it appeared
Fiona hadn’t even considered going to New York.

      Fiona rose from her chair and grabbed one of the
plates. “Oh, that. No.” Fiona sighed. “I can protect us.”

     “Some people did get hurt, though.” Some people had actually
gotten killed. But Becky hadn’t broached the topic since that day, even though
she knew she had to. Fiona simply had too much power to not carefully consider
every move she made.

     “I was stupid,” Fiona said, frowning. “Thinking they
wouldn’t dare. I didn’t take precautions. I thought, hey, it’s just a little
missile. It’ll just burn up.” Fiona took a fork and scooped up a pile of the
veggies. “I can’t know everything.” 

     “You sure you weren’t punishing Elders and just let it
get out of hand?”

     “Do you think I would do that?” Fiona looked guilty.

     “Not on purpose.” Becky scooped the rest of the
veggies onto her plate, and the two women took seats across from each other.
Becky’s cabin was small, but nice. It had large bathrooms and a cozy kitchen
that she’d always found romantic. She tended to have her most important talks there,
even if they were just with herself.

     “Look,” Becky said, trying again, “I get that you
don’t want to be a part of this, but you
are
part of it. You have been
from the very start, honey.”

     Fiona took a bite of the veggies, which melted in her
mouth. She almost forgot what she was going to say, but then it came back to
her.  “I know. But I didn’t ask to be. I didn’t ask for all this to happen. For
all these powers. I just want to be a normal eighteen-year-old girl. I want to
go to college. I want to go out on weekends.”

     “No, you don’t.” Becky grinned playfully. “You just
want it all on your own terms, and you’re not going to get that, Fiona. No
matter how powerful you are, you can’t always control what other people do. Not
even the Fire Fly can do that, honey.”

     Fiona shrugged and said nothing but dove into the
veggies with gusto. So Becky joined her. After a good first round, with the
veggies mostly losing, Fiona rose and went to the fridge, pulling out a glass
container of sun tea. “You want some?” she asked Becky.

     She did.

     Fiona poured sparkling liquid into glasses and
returned with them to the table. She shrugged. “So, what are you saying? Should
I go level Freedom Rise? Or kidnap the chairman and force the Council to disband?
What?”

     “I don’t know what you should do,” Becky said
honestly.

     “I don’t want him to win.”

     Who was
him?
“The Revolution?” Becky asked.

     Fiona nodded.

     Becky grinned. “But you don’t want him to
lose
either, do you?”

     “No, that would mean the Council would win—and they
can’t win.”

     “So, what happens the first time one of those girls
asks you to take out the Council for her? A lot of people think you’re part of
the Suns of Liberty,” Becky pointed out.

     “Each case is different,” Fiona said, staring down at the
table, shaking her head. “I’ll deal with it if it comes up. I just think if I
leave the Council alone, maybe they’ll leave me alone. Leave you alone.”

    
Ignore it and it will go away. The logic of a
child.
Becky’s eyes narrowed. “And if they try to rebuild that chamber?”

     “I’ll take care of it, again.”

     Becky nodded.

     “I just don’t want to piss them off if I don’t have
to. I mean, what if I’m not around to protect you next time?”

     Becky smiled, letting her off the hook for now. “How
could you not be?”

     “I always will,” Fiona said in a husky voice that
caught Becky by surprise. Fiona rose from her seat and slid across the table’s
edge, her fingers tracing trails across its surface, to stand inches from
Becky.

     “Hi,” Becky said, suddenly nervous. She could feel her
face flush with heat.

     Fiona smiled, swept her delicate hand across Becky’s
blushing cheek, parted her lips, and kissed her.

NEW YORK CITY

FREEDOM RISE

They
sat at the large table in the large room with large and expensive art hanging
everywhere. Solid gold furnishings surrounded them. The finest of everything.

     In a meeting room.

     Chairman Howke had laid it out for the other members.
Tried to put the best face on it he could.

     “We have to continue to think long term. Despite some
short-term losses, we’re still on track. So far,” he said, “our change in
tactics has worked. But not without cost.”

     Across the table from him, a proud Southerner named
Sonny “Tex” Riley, the CEO of Imperial Petroleum
,
snorted. “That’s as
much hot air as a sack full of farts, Bill! Our stock prices all tanked after
they took down the
Delaware.
And we lost
how much
inventory in
the Trenton facility? We can’t afford that.” Riley peered about at the rest of
the members. “Let’s not forget, we created this council to protect our interests,
not the other way ‘round.” He glared back at Howke. “Your own shareholders are
calling for your head. Read today in the
Journal
that there’s even talk
of Media Corp splitting up. And everybody at this table knows that the real
reason is because you interfered with that news report on the Suns bringing
down that ship! Got your whole staff in rebellion!

     “Not the whole staff,” Howke interjected.

     “How in the hell did you let that get out? I thought
you controlled the goddamn media?” Riley barked.

     “We
have
kept it out of the media,” Howke
stated, fighting to keep his cool. “Someone on staff leaked it to a few big
shareholders, that’s all.” Howke shared a smirk with Tarleton. “We’ll find out
who it was.”

     Out of Howke’s eyesight, Tarleton flashed a
self-satisfied grin. And then returned to glaring at Riley.

     “Shit! That talk hurts all of us. We’re all just a
buncha dominoes!” Riley pounded his fist on the table. “Now, son, what are you
gonna do about this?”

      Howke was prepared for the question. He was getting better
at this. He turned to glare back at Riley, leaning forward, staring the old man
down. “Two things,” he said robotically. “Our original strategy stays in place,
and Mr. Ray gets us the information we need. The
Delaware’s
loss bore an
unexpected positive externality. We now have a test subject for Project Krill,
so our more extreme option is going to be unnecessary.”

     That caused a flourish of excitement across the table.
Riley grumbled something about the “price tag,” but his protest was quickly
drowned out.

     Tarleton waved his hand, and his assistant passed out
folders to the others that included Commander Michael Crustac’s picture, a
short bio, and the medical report of his injuries.

     “Second,” Howke peered over at Tarleton, “we now know
that the Suns have added a new member to their team. So...” Howke paused for
effect. And then he dropped it on them. His eyes sparkled. “It’s time to bring
in the girl and her toy.”

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

RESISTANCE HQ

“Looks
like an attack,” Lantern said as he glanced around the table. Only Ward was
missing. “No way to know for certain.”

     “What is certain, however, is the increase in their
coded messages and searches of this area, as you can see from Lantern’s data,”
Leslie added. Images of data appeared on the video screens that lined the walls
of the Situation Room.

     “With the element of surprise, the Legion has already
shown that they are at least a match for us. A direct attack on this facility
would be the most logical next step,” the Revolution said.

     “I can get inside Freedom Rise again,” Rachel said,
adjusting the white gauze bandage on her wrist. She pointed at Lantern. “If Hot
Pants over there works up some kind of bug, I can place it anywhere you need.
We find out once and for all.”

     Sophia scowled. “Didn’t work so well last time.”

     Rachel ignored her.

     “No, I’m not going to risk you again. They know about
you now, Rachel. Von Cyprus should not be underestimated. For now, we have to
assume that you have been neutralized.”

     Sophia tried to suppress a smirk.

     “Sir,” Lantern said, “given our recent track record,
we may all be neutralized. I would advise we stay put, lay low. Same for COR.”

     “So, you all stay here and COR stays in Philadelphia?” Leslie asked.

     Lantern nodded. “I can’t assure they’re traveling or
communicating undetected.”

     Leslie had been staring at his data on the screens, but
now she turned to Lantern directly. “Are you sure about that? They’re not going
to take kindly to house arrest.”

     “They’ll be safe there,” he said. “Fewer signals, fewer
detections.”

     “Um, excuse me,” Drayger said. “My wife is in the Big
Apple Minutemen. We could call some of them here to stand guard.”

     “You’re married?” Leslie asked. First she’d heard of
it. How was that not in his file? It was unusual for people this deep in the Resistance
to have many significant others. It was the one thing they all had in common.
In fact, most of them, in one way or another, had lost their significant others
to the Council. This made Drayger different. And intriguing.

     “I was just about to suggest that,” Sophia declared,
staring at Drayger now, as they all were.

     “Put me in charge of defense of both the facilities,”
Drayger blurted out. He pointed to the device around his head. “It lets me read
emotions and basic states of consciousness. Like earlier when you, Mr.
Revolution—“

     “It’s just Revolution.”

     “—Revolution, when you fell unconscious. I knew it, I
could read it. And I said to myself, ‘Well, that’s just not good. I’ve got to
do something. I‘ve got to do something.’ So I found Mr. Lithium, who was close
by. See, I could tell he was close by because I was focused on Revolution. And
I zapped him with some fear. And then—”

     “Zapped him?” Leslie asked.

     “Figure of speech,” Drayger said, still amped up. He
tapped his headpiece again. “I can tell you if they’re coming and slow them
down if they do. I’m perfect for this.” Drayger finally noticed everyone
staring and recoiled like a turtle into its shell.

     Revolution marveled at the young man. Just as
bombastic off the field and as on it.

     “Kid, you’re just a probationary member, not in
charge,” Sophia said.

     Drayger frowned. And sank further down in his chair.

     “Whatever we do,” Revolution said, rising from his
seat with as much authority as he could muster, “we’ll work as a team. We’ll
need everyone at this table, and even some who aren’t. If they’re coming here,
they’re coming to crush us. It will take everyone’s cooperation to stop them.”

CHAPTER 30

MORRISTOWN, NEW JERSEY

V
eronica
frowned. “So, you’re really confident that this Rage woman is trustworthy?” she
asked Arbor as he drove the van down the narrow tree-draped lane. She was
worried about this terrorist woman they were going to visit and the fact that
they were all out of their battle armor and mostly unarmed.

     They each had a sidearm, but they were old-school
six-shooters. Arbor had insisted on nothing too high-tech. Not a good idea with
Scarlett Rage around, he’d said. Fiddler had one of his acid guns and a single
spear loaded into it. It seemed outrageously inadequate for what they were
going to face. “I mean, she’s only, what? The CIA’s top-ranked most dangerous
terrorist in the world?” Veronica asked.