Pacific Station Vigilante (Book 1): The Negative Man (City of Chaos) (6 page)

I walked into the Pier District, privately thankful that there were lots of people out tonight.  It seemed the shock and fear from the bank robbery was beginning to pass and the citizens of the city were trying to get back into normal routines.  I saw Pierside over in the corner of the district and made my way over.

Heather had offered to come with me, but I didn’t want her involved in this.  I politely told her I wasn’t very trusting of Jenkins and that if things got hairy, I’d text her to come diffuse the situation.  I knew she was going out with some friends, but I knew if I did text her, she’d be here.  Something told me she had a very curious side hidden beneath those long legs.

As I entered the dimly lit bar, I heard a voice, “Jericho, glad to see you made it!”

Phil Jenkins was here, with a beer in hand, looking rather relaxed.  I walked over to where he was sitting and the bartender immediately put a beer down on the top.  I picked it up and we clanked bottles.  “This isn’t R&D is it Phil?”

“I prefer Pierside to being holed up in the lab all day, trust me.  I know we’re on the cutting edge in terms of tech and all, but give me a beer and a lot of good looking women any day of the week.”

There were lots of good looking women here, that’s for sure.  Jenkins was leering at a girl in a short skirt over by the pool table.  Each time she leaned over to play her shot, she gave most of the bar a free show.  “Can’t say I disagree with you Phil.  Though we got a few hotties at Wonder-Tech.”

“You mean Adams right?  Word around the office is you two are getting a little hot and heavy…”

“Phil, I’m not the guy to kiss and tell, but if I was, I’d tell you it was damn good.”  Again, we clinked our bottles.  “Any other rumors that’re good?”

He stared off, his eyes intensely focused.  “I don’t know how much I should tell you Jericho.  No offense,” he put his hand on my shoulder, “but you are John’s minion.”

That stung a bit.  I never thought of myself as DL’s minion, but perception is reality.  “I just try to keep my nose down and keep getting my paycheck.  That cheap ass barely pays me enough to cover my rent over in Alameda.”

Jenkins grimaced at that.  “I’m sorry man.  Not that Alameda is a shit hole, but good lord, he should really pay you better than that.”

“My mom would be so proud to see my expensive Master’s degree being put to such good use.”  I laughed at my own little joke.  My mom, Miranda, was a very smart lady.

“Don’t think that Wonder-Tech is the end all, be all, of tech jobs.  You never know what’s right around the corner.”

That was the line I was waiting for.  “Where else can guys like us go?  gl-O-bal?  Everyone knows Owen Walker only hires from within.  I couldn’t afford to take an unpaid internship after graduating.”

He shook his head.  “That’s what they want you to think.  Honestly, I think Wonderton himself started that spin.  While it’s true gl-O-bal has a strong internship pool, Walker’s always on the lookout for top talent.”

I leaned in close and lowered my voice.  “You’re talking like you know this from experience…”

“That’s why I’m meeting with you today.  I know Owen and your talents haven’t slipped by him.”

“You know him?”

“Yeah, I consider him a good friend.”

I was caught off guard by this.  I was expecting something more sinister that would go along with him being the Ace of Clubs.  No, this meeting was turning out to be borderline corporate espionage.  “If you’re good friends with him, why don’t you work for gl-O-bal?”

He waved me off.  “I’ve been at Wonder-Tech for years.  I guess you can call me a creature of routine and to leave would throw off my groove, you know?”

I didn’t buy that explanation, but I didn’t call him out on it either.  I had to keep reminding myself he was a supervillain.  “Not that I’d be opposed to a move for the better, it’s just a bit of a surprise.”

“Of course it is.  But where are my manners?  We’re here to have a good time, not talk about work bullshit.”  Jenkins got up and walked over to an open table.  I followed over and watched him put a dollar in.  “You up for a game?”

Pool wasn’t my favorite thing to do, but I was quickly realizing that Jenkins trusted me and would keep talking.  Grabbing a stick from the rack, “I warn you, I’m not very good.”

Turns out it didn’t matter.  Jenkins was a very skilled player, yet for him, it was more about talking.  We had two more beers while we played, after each, I’d get a few more tidbits of information.  Everything to his real feelings on John Wonderton (“The man is an arrogant prick!”) to things that happened in the past before I arrived (“Jenna from accounting, yeah she banged half the R&D lab and at last count had five abortions.”).  Honestly, by the end of our second game, I should’ve seriously considered talking to Owen Walker.

However, terrible management skills and office infidelities aside, I was here as DL’s second, not John Wonderton’s assistant.  The problem was Jenkins wasn’t giving up any information on The Aces, just disdain for Wonder-Tech.  None of this information would be useful.

After my second straight defeat, I felt as if I’d gotten as far as I could with Jenkins.  “I know this is going to come as a surprise, but I’m an old man trapped in a younger guy’s body.  I think I’m going to head on home.”

Jenkins smiled.  “You’re wasting your youth Jericho, but I also understand.”  His phone buzzed and he pulled it out real quick.  “Looks like I gotta run too.  A friend of mine needs a ride home.”

I laughed to myself that one drunk would call another for a ride, but that wasn’t my concern.  I settled up at the bar and began walking out of the Pier District.  I was tempted to text DL about this epic failure, but then he’d just want to talk.  No, that could wait until morning.  When I got to my car, I’d text Heather and see what she was up to.

The parking lot was dark as I entered.  I could’ve swore this place had lights on it when I parked here just a few hours ago.  Anyways, I walked over to my car only to run into an invisible wall.  The impact sent me on to my ass and left my head stunned.

A figure dressed in all black approached from the dark.  As he closed in, I saw he was wearing a Spades mask.  As he walked, he shimmered, apparently passing through the invisible wall.  He stopped a few feet from me, his dark eyes never leaving mine.

His voice sounded mechanical.  “Jericho Staley… or should I call you The Dark Lion?”

What the hell was he talking about?  “I’m sorry man, but you got the wrong guy.”

An invisible force pushed me back upright.  I wobbled to my feet under the power of whatever this was.  Two more figures stepped out of the shadows; one in a Hearts mask and the other in a Clubs mask.  Hearts had his hand stretched out, as if controlling whatever was pushing me.

Spades took another step closer to me.  “Do not lie to me!  I already know the identity of Massacre due to his screw up, so just admit you’re The Dark Lion!”

How did Massacre give himself away?  Not that it mattered if I found out, I was currently up against all The Aces.  “I’m not The Dark Lion, I promise you.  I don’t even know why you’d think that…”

Spades took one last step and reached out with his hand.  It passed right through my jeans and into my pocket.  He grabbed my gun and tossed it aside.  He then went for the other pocket, looking for something else.  When he pulled his hand out, he had my cell phone.  Tossing it to Clubs, “Is he telling the truth?”

Clubs took my phone and removed one of his gloves.  He gripped the phone in his ungloved hand and his eyes closed.  Was he reading my phone telepathically?

After a few moments, “I can’t confirm Spades.  There is suspicious activity, but not enough to persuade me to say one way or another.”  He tossed Spades back the phone.

I couldn’t tell if this man was smiling under his mask, but his next words came out a little too joyful.  “I guess that means we will find out the old fashioned way.”

I didn’t know what the meant until Hearts made a fist and a punching motion.  The invisible force hit me and sent me flying, landing on the hood of a car.  I was in big trouble…

The invisible force controlled by Hearts picked me up again.  Spades was making his way over, rather slowly with a bit of a robotic laugh.  I got the impression he was using a voice modulator to distort his true voice.  Jenkins, aka Clubs, was standing behind them, no emotion coming from the man.  Spades reached out and grabbed me by the shirt.

“Come now Dark Lion, don’t go soft on me!  This is supposed to be an epic battle!”

I swung half-heartedly at him and my first passed right through.  This confirmed my suspicion he could ‘phase’ his body.  “I’m telling you I’m not The Dark Lion!  I don’t even know how you came to that conclusion!”

“Clubs has a special gift, as he can impart his mind into any computer and interact with them.  He knows about the emails between you and Massacre!  The sooner you stop lying and fight back, the better this will get for all of us.”

He dropped me to the ground and I figured this was the end of the line for me.  I took two more swings at Spades, but he just laughed as they harmlessly went through him.  He delivered a solid blow to the back of my head, followed up by a kick to the stomach.  The pain from the impact hadn’t even registered yet as my eyes bugged out of my head.

Again, Hearts used his powers to bring me back to a standing position.  Spades didn’t seem amused this time.  “Clubs, is it possible we have the wrong man?”

The force of the last kick broke a rib and it was really hard to breathe.  Each intake of air caused me so much pain.  Clubs came close and his eyes looked into mine.  He knew I knew who he was based on that.  “I don’t think this is The Dark Lion.  Jericho would’ve never been able to kill Diamonds based on what I’ve seen.”

The force holding me up immediately disappeared and I had to catch myself not to fall again.  Jenkins had taken his mask off.  “Jericho, I apologize for this, but we had to be sure you weren’t The Dark Lion.”

I acted surprised.  “Phil!  Phil Jenkins is Clubs…”

Spades pointed towards Hearts and then the van parked a little ways from us.  Hearts ran over to it and started it up.  “I am sorry for what took place tonight Mr. Staley.  For now, get to a hospital and have that rib looked at, it punctured a lung.”

Hearts pulled up close and Clubs and Spades got in the back.  Phil looked back one last time and gave me a short, quick nod before shutting the van door.  Then they sped off, into the night.  I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone.  I dialed Heather’s number, not DL’s.

The phone rang twice before she picked up.  There was loud music in the background, which told me she was probably at a club downtown.  “Jericho!”  Her voice was loud to compensate.  “How did it go with that nerd Jenkins?”

“I got jumped in the parking lot by The Aces…”  It was really painful to talk.  “I need help…”  I coughed harshly into the receiver.

“Jericho?!  Are you okay?”

I tried to talk again, but I dropped the phone to clutch my ribs.  All I wanted to do was lay on the cold, hard concrete, hoping that would relieve the pain.  I was so surprised that no one had come through this area yet.  Something was really off about the area as a whole.

Maybe fifteen minutes went by before a car’s headlights broke me out of my stupor.  I crawled out between the cars and lifted myself up on a fairly nice sports car.  I recognized the car immediately as Heather’s.  She came to a quick stop and got out.  “Jericho!  Oh my God!  Are you okay?”

“Never been better…”

Her arms wrapped around my body.  For such a thin girl, she was very strong.  The back door was already open and she guided me down on to the leather backseats.  As soon as I was comfortable, she was back on the phone.  “Yes this is an emergency!  My boyfriend was just attacked by The Aces!  I’m taking him to Heights General right now!”

The car ride was fast and frantic as two police cruisers joined Heather on the ride in.  As soon as we made it, EMT’s rushed to the side of the car to strap me into a gurney.  Soon doctors were at my side, hooking IV’s up to me and directing nurses what fluids to put in.

I guess the head doctor made an appearance.  “Room 1610 is open!  It’s the one beside Martinez!  Hurry!”

As soon as we made it into the room they plugged up a monitor and attached it, got me on oxygen, and got the pain meds flowing.  I just wanted to rest, so I closed my eyes…

A sharp zapping noise brought me back to reality.  Electrical arcs were coming out of the wall socket right behind me.  The doctors and nurses scattered, leaving me to my fate.  However, none of the arcs hit me and as quickly as they came, they were gone.  All the machinery was fried and left the staff in a panic.

They scrambled, trying to get more equipment in to help me.  Two doctors were talking in hushed voices when again the electrical arcs came back.  This time one hit me in the chest and all the air building up inside me was expelled.  I felt like a balloon being deflated.

“It has to be The Negative Man!  He’s here attacking this man!”

“No Doctor!  Not this man, but the patient in the room behind us!”

The doctor and nurse hurried from the room.  In the chaos I guess no one cared that my prone body was just electrocuted.  I continued to lay there as hospital staff ran by my room and into the one behind me.  Sparks of electricity continued to spark, as did screams as people tried to help the person behind me.

The television came to life in my room.  The white eyes and inverted image of The Negative Man was there, laughing in his booming voice.  “It is too late to save Deputy Mayor Ian Martinez…  He deserved his fate, as he was a coward and a crook.”

The television cut off, only to return a moment later.  “Pacific Heights, you are on trial.  Consider me the judge, jury, and executioner.  Your fate is in your hands…”  And once again the television went dead.

Heather came tearing into my room.  Throwing herself on me, which was both nice but incredibly painful, “They told me you were dead!”

I couldn’t talk, as I still had all the random contraptions hooked up to me, but I poked her in the head a few times until she saw my grimace and jumped up.  “Oh God, I’m so sorry!”

A doctor returned to my room, “Mr. Staley, words fail me.  In our haste to get to Mr. Martinez, we completely left you in the dark.  Nurses!  In here immediately.”

The nurses who began to flow in and out of my room were loose with information.  Deputy Mayor Martinez, who was here for a double bypass, was fried to death.  Police had the building surrounded but no one spotted The Negative Man coming or going.  Two officers were posted outside my door at Heather’s request.  I couldn’t convey the message that I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

What baffled my doctor even more was that the electricity that hit me actually may have saved my life.  It expelled all the air that was building in my lung.  With so much of the hospital in disarray, I was left to my own devices and hopefully would begin healing.

When I woke up the next morning, I felt a lot better but was still in rough shape.  Heather was sitting in the visitor’s chair, looking at me.  “Rise and shine.”

My throat was dry and raspy, but I had to thank her.  “Thanks for rescuing me.”

“I’m just glad you’re alive!  Why don’t we get you out of here and get you home?”

I didn’t know if she could make that happen, but that sounded fantastic.  “Whatever you say boss.”