Pacific Station Vigilante (Book 1): The Negative Man (City of Chaos) (12 page)

We had five minutes before the chat room, for lack of a better term, that The Negative Man had given us instructions to break into would go live.  It had taken me about ten minutes to successfully infiltrate the server and from there gain access to this room on the dark web.  I would be out of camera range, but would still be able to monitor everything from the control panel.

John Wonderton had transformed into The Dark Lion while I did the computer work.  We really hadn’t said much to each other, but working towards a common goal of getting this meeting set up helped keep the tension out of the air.

With two minutes until show time, the room began picking up another external signal.  “Looks like we’ll be going live very soon.  We’ve got company in the room.”

The cowl hid most of his face, but his eyes were visible to me.  Hate was set in every inch of them.  “The sooner he gets here, the better.”

I sat there, with baited breath, waiting for The Negative Man to appear.  And then, like a ghost in the machine, his face took over the monitor in the center of the room.  Hidden underneath layers of static, the only thing we could make out was the outline of his head and his bright white eyes in the center of a distorted greyish black image.  The same electronic voice I’d heard when Massacre was killed greeted DL.  “My old friend… I’m sorry for what I did to poor PJ, though it was for the greater good.”

As DL prepared his comeback, the signal in the room started jumping all over the place.  I had to go into hacker mode to keep us afloat in the room.  My fingers were locked in a battle either with The Negative Man himself, or possibly an accomplice.

None the wiser to my struggles, “Massacre was a good man and a damn good vigilante.  You murdered him in cold blood.”

“Just like he killed those innocent hostages in City Hall?”  DL showed a moment of weakness.  “Yes, I have eyes and ears everywhere.”

“And how many innocents did you kill the last time you graced Pacific Station with your presence?  Don’t speak to me of meaningless murders.”

I think he laughed, but it was hard to tell.  “Forget about my transgressions and look in the mirror at your own.  You claim you wish to clean up the city, yet The Aces are still the ones with the power.”

DL kicked a chair that happened to be too close to him.  “The Aces are scum, but you’re the real threat to the city.  Be a man and fight me already!”

“You’re such a fool Dark Lion.  I am so much closer to you than you think.  But I will extend this offer to you.”  My head perked up from my own battle at this and I almost lost us the connection.  Luckily I kept it together before we were disconnected.  “You rid the city of the plague that is The Aces and I will battle you personally.  How does that sound?”

“Why do you care so much about what those insignificant goons do?  I thought you’d be all about Spades and his band of murders and thieves.”

His face flickered for a minute before all the static went away.  He was still hidden in the shadows, but the distortion was gone and his voice was no longer mechanical.  Softly, “We have two different philosophies, but at the end of the day we both wish for this city to be a controlled environment.  The Aces are a plague and I would never join with those amateurs.”

The Negative Man, the terror of Pacific Station sounded so human.  I mean, I knew he was human, I just never thought he’d have to show himself in this capacity when fear was his greatest power.  The Dark Lion also seemed to be at a loss for the way his greatest enemy chose to present himself.  “Why should I believe you truly mean this?”

“When have I ever lied to you?  Even in our greatest battles, I was always honest with my intentions.”

Something rolled over to my feet.  The connection had become steady when the static went away so I bent over and picked up the rolled up note.  ‘Trace the line.’  With no interference, I might be able to.

I went to work while DL kept him talking.  “I will have revenge on you for everything you’ve done, so help me.  If removing The Aces from the equation in the only way to kill you, then so be it.”

“Good.  I knew I could count on you.  Now, as for you trying to track me, allow me to show you how bad an idea that is.”

DL looked over at me and using his inhuman reflexes jumped over and knocked me away from the computers I was operating.  Surges of power fried everything and if it hadn’t been for DL, probably me with it.  Explosions happened all over the lab, every computer station being swept up in the brewing electrical nightmare.

DL helped me to my feet.  “We need to leave!”

I was all about it and followed him as we ran out of the lab and into his office.  The surge must’ve been building wide and affected the entire system.  Sprinklers were going off and wiring was exploding from the wall.  “You’re still in costume!  What if someone sees you?”

“Just act like I showed up to rescue you.”

We had to take the stairs and ran into no one.  I knew it was a Saturday, but usually there were some stragglers in the office to catch up on work.  The first casualty we saw was the front security officer who was face down on his keyboard.  Smoke was still coming off his sizzling body.  DL ran over to the sign in log for the weekend.  “There were only three people here, me you, and Heather Adams.”

My stomach bottomed out.  “Heather’s here?”  I looked outside and didn’t see her.  “She still must be up in Legal.  Let’s go!”  The fires weren’t blocking the path yet and I was determined to get to her.

DL stopped me from running back.  “Get outside and make sure the fire department is on its way.  You can’t help her, but I can.”

I tried to push against him, but his strength was greater than mine.  “Fine, but I’m counting on you.”

He gave me a nod before taking off towards the stairs.  I ran outside where people were gathering around to see what was happening.  The nine-one-one operator picked up on the second ring.  “Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency?”

“My name is Jericho Staley and I work at Wonder-Tech.  Something happened to the electrical system and things began blowing up building wide.  The Dark Lion is on the scene, but fires are breaking out everywhere.  We need the fire department.”

The lady remained stoic even with everything I just told her.  “Sending the dispatch now.  Was there anyone else in the building with you?”

John Wonderton, but he’s currently running around as The Dark Lion, so I refrained from saying him.  “There was a security guard, but he’s dead.  I think there was someone down in Legal too, but I couldn’t check the check in ledger due to the fires.”

Over the top of my voice a large explosion shook the ground.  Based on where that originated, I guessed it was the R&D lab.  The servers were on the same level, what was left of them anyway, so it made sense that the overload would find its way there.

Her voice, never wavering with everything that was happening, “I’ll be sending an ambulance as well.  Stay on the line until they arrive Mr. Staley.”  She was polite, but my heart was racing; I needed to know if Heather was okay.  “Are you unharmed sir?”

“Yeah, just shaken up.”  That much was true, my hands were shaking.

The doors to the building flew open.  DL came running out with a body slumped over his shoulder.  He ran over and dropped Heather to the ground, her eyes closed and skin horrifyingly pale.  “Hurry with that ambulance!  The Dark Lion just pulled a survivor out!”

I dropped my phone and ran over to her.  I put my hand on her face and it was cold and clammy.  “Is she alive?”

Bad news was coming; I could feel it just by his body language.  “I’m sorry son, but I don’t think she’s going to make it.”

I sat in the waiting room, drinking probably close to my tenth cup of coffee.  According to the nurse that came out to brief me a few hours ago, Heather was still in critical condition.  According to the doctors, it looked like she was on the phone when the power surged and there was no telling what internal damage it caused.  They were most concerned with her brain, due to the activity she was doing at the time.

I didn’t know much about Heather’s family, but it was telling that no one else was here.  The same nurse that gave me the update said on her insurance information, her sister was listed as next of kin, but the telephone number listed was out of service.  She asked me if I knew of anyone else and I felt sick telling her no.

When the doors opened again, my head jumped up.  It was the nurse again and she made her way over to me.  “We’ve done the best we can.  She’s stable and responding to verbal commands, but she can’t breathe on her own and her movements are limited to tiny hand gestures and blinking.”

“Can I go back and see her?”

I knew the answer was probably no, but the nurse relented.  “Yes, but only for a few minutes.  She needs rest before we have to start all over again.”

The nurse, whose name was Annie Lipsky, led me back to Heather’s room.  She opened the door for me and I slipped in, closing it behind me.  The beeping on all the contraptions reminded me of my own visit to Heights General not that long ago.  I walked over to her bed, her eyes were closed.

I put my hand in hers.  “Hey, it’s me, Jericho.  They let me come back and visit for a few minutes.”

Her eyes stayed closed, but I felt her hand twitch in mine.  I took that as a sign she recognized I was here.  There wasn’t a whole lot to say, so I just sat there, holding her hand until nurse Annie came back in.  “I wish I could let you stay longer, but you’ve been here fifteen minutes and the doctors would like her to keep resting.”

Happy just to get this time, “Of course.  Thanks for doing this for me.”

“My pleasure young man.  Why don’t you go home and wash up?  You look like you could use a shower, a meal, and a nap.”

“I think I’ll take your advice nurse Annie.”  She gave me a smile as I walked out and didn’t stop until I got to the elevator.  I got on with a bunch of doctors who were too busy on their phones or writing notes to even notice me.  Sheer exhaustion took over when I made it to the car.  I’d used up a lot of energy over the past twenty four hours and was running on fumes.

I slept hard, well into the early afternoon.  I was in the middle of getting ready to go back to Heights General when I heard a knock on my door.  Uneasy about whom it could be, I looked out the window first.  I saw my boss, work boss that is, standing there.  The stress in my shoulders lifted as I opened the door.  “Making house calls?”

“How’s Heather doing?”

We walked back into my kitchen and sat down at my small table.  “They don’t really know what’s wrong with her.”  Fuming at myself, “I didn’t even know she was there yesterday!”

John looked as tired as I had felt when I first got home.  “And if you did?  What could you have done that would’ve saved her?  This is on The Negative Man, not you.”

I knew his words meant well, but it still didn’t change the fact.  “I owe you a thank you.  If you hadn’t found her as quickly as you did, she’d probably be dead.”

“We all do what we can.”  He pulled a menu out of his jacket pocket.  “Have you been to the new taco place on Wave Street?”

Tacos?  “No, I haven’t, why?”

“You look hungry and I know you’re probably heading back to the hospital.  Let me buy you lunch.  It might take your mind off things for a little bit.”

I wasn’t really feeling it, but I went along with him.  I followed him down to Wave and saw the taco joint, The Great Burrito on my right.  The parking was pretty open, so I parked my P.O.S. of a car beside his luxury sedan.  That reminded me of something else I needed to talk to him about.

Once we placed our orders, I was going to try the two taco special, I got to business.  “Not to add even more to your plate, but tomorrow I’ll be getting a job offer.”

“I’m surprised it took this long.”

That wasn’t the answer I was expecting.  “You were counting on that, weren’t you?”

“Of course.  And you’re going to accept it.”

I looked around; making sure no one was close enough to listen in.  I didn’t like being this exposed, but none of The Aces knew DL and I were in this together.  Quietly, “He wants me to help him build something dangerous.”

“You do what you need to in order to protect your cover.  After yesterday, we know what we have to do.”

He wouldn’t allow anymore talk about The Aces or even bring up The Negative Man.  Each time I thought I could slip it in, he quashed it with an annoying bug.  At the end of the lunch, “Go back to the hospital and do what you need to do.  Keep me in the loop with her condition, would you?”

“I will.”  I wonder if John would know.  “Does she have any family nearby?  The only number listed on her insurance was to her sister, but the number was no longer working.”

His face sunk.  “I don’t know if I can find the employment files, after what happened at Wonder-Tech, but I’ll look.  If I find anything, I’ll let you know.”

“Will anyone have a job to come back to?”

“I’m not planning on firing anyone.  There is plenty of work we need to do to rebuild.  I’ll need all hands on deck, except yours.  Starting tomorrow, you’ll be working for gl-O-bal, okay?”

I couldn’t say I liked being told what to do, but I was glad DL had his focus back.  “I’m still on the case then.”

It didn’t take long in the Sunday traffic to get back to the hospital and I went right back up to the floor Heather was.  When I checked in, the on call nurse told me she was still in critical condition, but her next round of checkups was currently in progress. I took a seat and began the waiting game all over again.

It wasn’t nurse Annie who came out this time.  An older lady stopped by the desk and the on call nurse pointed to me.  I got up and met her halfway over.  “How’s she doing?”

“She’s awake and coherent.  Annie told me you’d be coming back and if I saw you, to let you go visit when it was okay.”

Heather was awake!  That was fantastic news.  “Does this mean you figured out what’s wrong?”

“I wouldn’t go that far, but she’s been upgraded to stable.”  That sounded a bit ominous, but stable was a good thing.  “She’s on a lot of drugs right now to help with the pain, but she said she’d take a visitor if it was you.”

I followed the new nurse back and went into Heather’s room.  Unlike last time, she was sitting up with her eyes open.  Her skin was still super pale, but she didn’t look bad at all.  The ear where the phone was resting was covered in bandages, to cover the burns I assumed.  She looked so happy to see me.  “Jericho!  I wasn’t sure if you’d be here.”

“Where else would I be?  How are you feeling?”

She pointed up to the button that I knew was the call button for morphine.  “Good as long as that stuff is flowing freely.  I woke up with the world’s worst migraine.”

I shuddered at the thought of all that electricity surging through a phone so close to one’s head.  “You scared the shit outta me, you know that?  Thankfully The Dark Lion was close by and rescued you.”

Her eyes closed briefly before opening back up.  “You were there too?”

“Yeah, John called me in to help decrypt a strange email he got.  After I figured it out, we were sitting around talking when everything went to hell.  We got separated in the confusion and, in the lobby, I ran into The Dark Lion.”

I could see her losing focus, the morphine really kicking in.  “I’m just glad you made it out unhurt.”

“The tables are turned huh?”  She smiled.  “But enough talk today.  You need to rest.”

She began mumbling something, but her eyes were already closed and she fell asleep, her hand in mine.