Part of me hoped she wouldn't answer. Most of me prayed she would.

It was late by the time I found myself outside of the hotel room Cassandra said she was staying in. She had been brief on the phone and hesitant when I asked to see her, but she told me, so I went.

My stomach had been relatively calm for a while now, though I still had one hand rubbing it.

I took a deep breath and rang the doorbell again.

She opened it in mid-ring.

"Patience is a virtue," she said, as she leaned against the doorframe with crossed arms, as she glared at me.

"Time is money," I said with a weak smirk. "Or something like that."

We both stood silent for a moment before I cleared my throat.

"I'm sorry to bother you so late, Cass," I said, cramming my hands in my pockets and looking at my feet. "Isiah said you called, and I just wanted to check in on you."

"Do you want to come in?"

"Would you mind?"

She stepped aside, and I walked in.

"Where have you been?" she asked, as she closed the door and walked past me and into the living room of the suite that had to be larger than her apartment.

"I don't know for sure," I said, as I looked around.

"You don't know where you've been?" she asked, as she sat and still glared at me.

"I woke up this morning in some run down apartment in the Paper District, which, by the way, I have heard is scheduled for demolition by Millennium Man. If you want to know."

"I've heard that. It's been five days, Jeffery, and you don't know where you've been?"

"No," I said, as I sat on the couch across from her. "I remember the Siege Engine, and then I'm waking up in some dump with my stomach hating life but put back together more or less."

"Let me see it."

"Do what?"

"Show me your scar."

"Do you not trust me when I say I got gutted again?"

"Fine then," she said with a dismissive wave, as she looked away.

"How have you been?" I asked. "Where have you been?"

"I took a break," she said without looking at me.

"Hopefully not to the same beach I did."

She smirked a bit.

"Your friend's awfully creative."

"He gets it from me."

"I doubt that," she said, looking back to me.

"Are you okay, Cass?"

She lost the smirk and sighed, as she looked down and thought.

"Why are you here, Jeffery?"

"To check up on you."

"But, why?" she asked, as she met my eyes with hers. "Shouldn't you be checking up on the rest of the city?"

"Not in my condition."

"So, now you're going to take time off? With everything that's going on, you're now going to take a breather?"

"Cass..."

"Jeffery, this is your chance."

"Chance to do what, Cass? Get myself killed? I don't know what's going on. I don't know who I can trust. I'm in absolutely no position to do much of anything right now but wait, heal up, and take stock of the situation."

"They're talking about war, Jeffery!"

"They've also tried to kill me, Cass," I shouted back, as I got to my feet. "Both sides, multiple times! I don't know who's on my side on this, Cassandra; I can't just go barging into City Hall and throw my imaginary weight around anymore. Anna put her sword through me, goddamn it! Last time I saw Victoria, she tried to kill me. Manly hasn't been right in the damn head since Churchill, and the others... Christ, the others don't stand a chance."

"Victoria?"

Shit. Too late now. I closed my eyes and hung my head.

"Victoria Burke is Mysteria," I said. "Michael Manly is Millennium Man. I don't trust them to do what's necessary, but I also know damn well I can't stand up to either of them. And, if Millennium Man is back, if he's on Anna's side..." I hesitated and took a deep breath.

I opened my eyes and looked at my open hands.

"I'm trying, Cass, I really am. I just... I don't know what to do anymore. I'm no good to this city dead, but, hell, I don't know if I'm any good for it alive."

I looked up, as she stood and stepped toward me, stopped close, and hesitated before reaching up with one hand and putting it on my cheek.

"I'm only one man, Cass. One man who's urinating blood and can hardly walk without needing to ball up in the fetal position and cry himself to sleep."

"Don't give up, Jeffery. Not now."

"I'm not giving up, Cass," I said, as I reached up and placed my hand on hers. "I'm far from giving up. I'm playing it smart."

"Then, why are you here?" she asked with a smirk.

"Because I was worried sick about you."

"There's a whole city you should be worried about."

"I've gotta start somewhere."

We shared a smirk.

"I know things are awkward between us, Cass," I said, as I took her hand off my cheek and held it with both of my hands. "I know that this is nowhere near what anyone might consider a normal start to a relationship. But, I care about you. I really do."

"Jeffery..." she said, shaking her head, as she looked away from me.

"Are you okay, Cass?"

"I'll be fine, Jeffery," she said, as she hung her head.

"Cass," I said, as I moved down and tried to look her in the eyes. "Are you okay?"

She leaned into me and started to cry.

I wrapped my arms around her and held her close, hoping it was comforting.

"I'm sorry," she said into my chest.

"It's okay, Cass," I said, rubbing her back. "It's okay."

She sobbed for a few moments before taking a deep breath.

"Thank you."

"For what?" I asked.

"For coming back."

I kissed the top of her head.

"You're not going to get rid of me that easily."

***

"Burke residence."

"I just love the monotone nature of your voice," I said, as I leaned back on the couch, phone to my ear. "I could sit and listen to you reading the phonebook all day."

"I am glad to hear you are doing well, Jeffery," Alfonse said on the other end.

"More or less. How are you doing?"

"I am well enough."

"And Victoria?"

"Miss Burke is... busy. Things have been moving very quickly since your incident last week, Jeffery."

"So, I've heard. Sorry to get right into it, but how are things looking on that shipment?"

"They will have most of the material requested here by tomorrow night."

"That's quick."

"They are rushing what they can because they fear the window into Pacific City is closing very quickly. It will also come at a premium price."

"How premium?"

"Three fold the previous estimate."

"Damn. Can I afford it?"

"Yes, though you should expect a lot less of what was requested than they had originally promised."

"Why the sudden rush? What's going on that I don't know about?"

"They are very concerned about this talk of war and rightfully so."

"Is there more to it than that?"

"I am sure there is a good amount of information that we are not aware of."

"Okay. Where is everything happening tomorrow?"

"I will not know until the morning."

"All right," I said, leaning forward and starting to rub the back of my neck with my free hand. "I'm going to be staying with Cass for at least the next day or so, so call me here," I said, giving him the number for Cass's hotel room.

"I take it things between you and Miss Trellis are better now?"

"We're working on it," I said. "Call me as soon as you know what's up with the shipment. If you can't reach me by, say, noon, call Officer Michael Self and tell him that Bush sent you." I gave him Self's number. "Don't tell him who you are; just tell him where to get the stuff."

"I believe I can handle it just fine, Jeffery," said Alfonse.

"Sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry for. How are you doing?"

"I'm okay, Alfonse."

"Are you?"

"I'll have to fill you in later," I said. "But, I was wondering if you could do me another favor?"

***

Cassandra didn't ask what I was doing, just said good night when I told her I'd be back, and left it at that.

I had said I was going to lay low and evaluate the situation, and, while doing what I was about to do may not have been me laying low, it was certainly me evaluating the situation.

The doorman of the apartment building recognized me from the television, so he trusted me. The couple twenties I slipped him certainly didn't hurt his telling me where to go and waving me on.

I took the stairs, pacing myself, as I went, testing my stomach, as I took my time to work through my head just what I was doing.

This was crazy.

But, it needed to be done.

I made it to the door to the apartment I was looking for and hesitated. I took a deep breath and shook my head.

"Here goes nothing," I said to myself aloud, and I knocked.

Nearly two o'clock in the morning, and the door was still answered, opening almost as wide as the chain would let it, as the person on the other side peered out.

"Yes?" asked a voice I always found to be very lovely, soft yet confident.

"I'm sorry to trouble you so late, Miss Darling," I said, as her eyes suddenly widened, registering who I was. "But, I was wondering if Michael might be in?"

"One moment," Regina Darling said, closing the door. I heard the chain slide, and then she opened the door all the way.

She tightened her robe, as she looked me up and down for a moment, and I had to resist doing the same to her.

"He's actually not here," she said after a brief moment.

"Damn," I said and immediately mentally kicked myself for saying out loud. "Do you know where I might be able to find him?"

She hesitated and swallowed hard, her eyes looking down briefly before coming back to mine.

"I don't," she said with a slight shake of her head. "I haven't seen him for a couple days."

Damn.

"Okay," I said with a nod. "Well, I'm sorry to have bothered you, Miss Darling."

"Mister Carter," she said very quick, as I started to turn away, reaching out and gently grabbing my arm. "Jeffery," she said with a weak smirk. "Would you like some tea?"

***

"Thank you," I said, as she handed me a cup balanced on a saucer and then sat herself in a chair across the coffee table from where I sat on her couch.

She just stared at me, as I lifted my cup and blew on its contents for a moment before taking a sip and nodding, as I set it back down.

"Very good, thank you," I said, as I looked into my tea.

"Are you okay?" she asked, and I looked up to her.

It took me a moment to respond, trying to figure out what to say.

"I'm fine," I said after clearing my throat.

"It's just that we don't know each other one bit," she said, as she stirred her tea. "And, you've been missing for the better part of a week and suddenly turn up on my doorstep. I wonder if everything is all right."

"Well," I said, as I set my tea on the coffee table. "You tell me, Miss Darling. Is everything alright?"

She smirked and shook her head.

"Fair enough, Mister Carter."

"Please, call me Jeffery."

"Then, call me Regina."

"You'll have to excuse me if I don't. I have a habit of being very polite when I'm not sure what to say."

I smiled and hoped she would in return, which she did, thank God. Lighten the mood, figure out what the hell you're doing here, get out.

"Why are you looking for Michael?" Regina asked, as she brought her tea to her lips and took a sip.

"I heard that he was back, more or less, and wanted to find him."

"I suppose you can't just go ask the Mayor, can you?"

"I get the feeling I'm not welcome in City Hall anymore," I said with a smirk. "But, I may have to test that out in the near future."

"Why do you want to find him, though?" she asked, as she leaned forward and set her tea on the table, ever the reporter with all the questions.

"I'm not sure exactly," I said, as I scratched my cheek and thought. "I just..." I took a deep breath and hung my head, looked into my empty hands, and sighed again. "Miss Darling, a lot has happened in the few days I've been gone, and I'm very worried about what's to come." I looked back up to her. "I need to know where this city's heroes stand. I'm pretty sure on most of them, but Michael..."

I shook my head and looked back to my hands.

"I think I've spoken with him a total of five minutes in my life," I said. "He's Millennium Man, he's supposed to be the big guy, and I've only seen him in person twice. I don't know what to make of him; I don't know what he's thinking or what he's doing and at a time like this. That's not good; that's dangerous."

It then dawned on me that she might have no idea what I was talking out.

I looked up to her and grinned.

"I'm Bush43 by the way."

"I know," she said. "Before you even started at City Hall."

"Burke's function in February?"

"Your fight with the Siege Engine," Regina said, as she picked up her tea and took another sip. "Enough of your mask was gone that I got a good enough look at your face. It was only a matter of a bit of research after that."

"Wow, I wonder how many other folks did that research?"

"I'm good at what I do, Jeffery," Regina said, as she set her tea down and adjusted her robe, as she sat back up. "I followed your signal once and met your friend in the Dick Cheney mask."

"You followed that?" She nodded. "Why?"

"I was looking for you."

"Huh," I said, hanging my head, a little stunned. "Honestly, I followed it once and then smashed it to bits." I looked up to her quick. "I didn't want that kid getting hurt. You put up a beacon like that, you might as well beg for a bad guy to come beat you up."

"I don't fault you," Regina said, cocking her head, as she studied me.

"I'm sorry," I said, hanging my head again. "I'm trying to justify a lot of what I'm doing lately."

"Trying to convince yourself of something?"

"Of a lot of things. That's kind what I was looking for Michael for too."

She sighed and shook her head. "Well, I don't know what to tell you, Jeffery. I really wish I knew what he was thinking, but I don't. Michael's been... distant lately."

"Does he follow Romanov's orders?"

"I don't know," she said, biting her lower lip. "I don't think he's listening to much of anyone lately."

"Is he sane?"

She looked at me confused.

"Is he rational?" I reworded. "I mean, is he flipping out, or is he pretty level headed at the moment?"

"He's lost, Jeffery."

She looked down and into her lap, swallowing hard, looking like she was holding back tears.

"You're worried about him, aren't you?" I asked.

"Worried sick," she said, taking a deep breath and looking back to me with a forced smile. "But, I do what I must."

She cleared her throat and reached for her tea.

"So, what are you going to do now, Jeffery?"

"I'm not sure yet," I said. "That's another thing I wanted to talk to Michael about. I'm still trying to figure out what all has happened since Thursday and what I can do now."

"People are leaving the city, you know."

"I assumed as much."

"They don't feel safe anymore."

"They haven't for a while."

"They did when there were heroes they could rely on."

"And, that was how long ago?"

"About five days."

I shook and hung my head.

"Jeffery, you were doing something for this city and these people that hasn't been done in months."

"It was all superficial. I was sticking my finger in the dike."

"You were doing something. In and out of the mask. You gave the people hope. But, when the Mayor turned on you like he did, in and out of the mask, the people gave up."

"I guess that's where I need to start, then," I said, looking up to Regina.

I woke to find myself naked and alone on a bed in a room with no other furnishings. I slowly sat up, my stomach protesting by sending pain through my body, but I did my best in ignoring it.

There was a window near the foot of my bed that gave me a view of the harbor, the night sky on the horizon, as the sun was setting behind me.

So, it was evening, and I was still in Pacific City. Unless I don't know the harbor as well as I'd like to think.

But, what evening? And, who's place is this?

I looked to the floor beside me to see a pile of clothes, jeans, t-shirt, underwear, socks, and shoes on top.

Nothing else.

I looked around the small room, as I stood up and started getting dressed.

A stove sat in one corner, a door open near it to reveal the bathroom. I assumed the other door on the far wall was to the outside. No fridge, nothing on the walls, no other furniture in the room.

I groaned, as I bent over to pull the pants on and my body tensed, as I stood upright; my teeth clenched, as pain raced through me and then subsided.

Good Lord, that hurt.

I walked to the bathroom, as I pulled the shirt over my head and stopped, as I got a good view of the place.

It was obvious no one had used that bathroom in a good number of years and that no one had cleaned it for a good number of years before that.

I could hold it.

After a bit of effort, I had socks and shoes on and stepped out of the room.

The hallway was in rough shape, holes in the walls, floors, wind cutting through from the hole at the end that revealed the outside world.

Whatever this place was, it was long past condemned.

With one hand self consciously on my stomach, I found my way out of the building and headed downtown.

***

My path took me near Eldritch's first, and I hoped she was home.

I cursed at myself for taking the stairs and had to stop twice on the way up to catch my breath and ease the pain from my stomach. But, I eventually made it and waited after knocking.

"C'mon, Eldritch," I said under my breath, as I knocked again.

Please don't be on the roof.

No answer.

Shit.

I looked down the hall to the stairwell for a moment, sighing and looking back to Eldritch's apartment door in front of me.

And, I kicked the door open.

I braced myself against the doorframe with one hand, while the other clutched at my gut; my teeth clenched, as I took deep breaths and prayed for the pain to stop.

It didn't completely, but it eased enough for me to move, and I walked in and shut the door behind me, turning the deadbolt to keep it closed since the doorknob was now pretty useless.

First things first, I used the bathroom and immediately regretted it. Peeing blood isn't something anyone liked to see.

I made my way back into Eldritch's one room place and started looking for a phone to no avail.

I did find the remote. I sat on her futon and turned on the television, trying to find news, information, something, anything to tell me what day it was and what had happened since.

My stomach roared, and I leaned my head back, as I closed my eyes and tensed my jaw again.

Stop.

Good Lord, please stop.

I brought my knees to my chest and wrapped my arms around my legs, sliding over and laying on Eldritch's futon in the fetal position, as my body burned.

And, I passed out.

***

I sat up quick, as water splashed into my face. Then, I crumpled up and fell over and off the futon just as quick, my stomach hating the fast motion and sending pain through me once more.

"There's my amusement for the day," said Johann Weisz with a snicker.

"Where's Eldritch?" I groaned, as I slowly straightened myself out and rolled onto my back, hoping the pain would pass well enough for me to get up and beat the crap out of Weisz.

"No clue," he said, as he turned and walked into the kitchen area of the apartment. "You want something to drink?"

"What day is it?"

"Tuesday," Weisz said, as I heard him open the fridge. "Where have you been?"

"Weren't you the one that got me out of the way?"

"Sure, but I just left you on some rooftop. Here."

I rolled my head back to see Weisz holding a bottle of beer out to me.

"C'mon, I'm being nice to you; take advantage."

I pushed myself up into a sitting position and leaned back against the futon, as I took the beer from him.

"You just left me on a rooftop?"

"I had somewhere to be," Weisz said, as he sat on the futon and drank from his beer. "Besides, I figured you'd heal up and be on your way."

"Where'd you have to be that was so important?"

"None of your damn business." Weisz shot me a glare, as he took another drink of his beer.

I decided to start on mine. Man, did it hit the spot.

"Just be thankful I got you out of there," Weisz said, as he leaned back.

"Why did you?"

"To keep things interesting."

"You sound like Anna."

"You want me to stab you in the gut for the full effect?"

I didn't reply, just drinking my beer.

"So, where have you been?" Weisz asked again.

"I don't know," I said. "I woke up earlier this evening in some condemned apartment building out in the Paper District."

Weisz held back a laugh.

"What?"

"Paper District's been scheduled for some major remodeling later this week," said Weisz. "How convenient."

"What kind of remodeling?"

"Let's just say Mikey's grown a pair and is looking to put 'em to use."

"Manly?"

Weisz nodded and took another drink.

"Millennium Man's back?"

"More or less," Weisz said, as he pushed himself to his feet and walked toward the kitchen area again.

"Why are you being nice to me, Weisz?"

"Because I'm outta here," he said, as he tossed his empty bottle in the trash.

"Leaving town?"

"Yep. It was a good gig, but you kids are too fucked up for my liking."

I shook my head and smirked. Fucked up was right.

"A bit of advice though, Jeffery," Weisz said, as he headed to the front door. "Get out while you can."

"I can't leave, Weisz. Not with what's coming."

He stopped at the door and looked at me.

"What's coming is why you should leave."

"What do you know, Weisz?"

He hesitated and then smirked.

"What have you done?"

"Hopefully, I've saved this city," he said with a shrug. "But, only time will tell, I guess."

And, he left.

***

Isiah Rowe looked worn out when he answered the door.

"Jesus Christ," he said, as his eyes widened at the sight of me.

"Same initials," I said with a smirk. "Different name."

"Where the hell have you been, man?" he asked, as he stepped aside and let me in. "I've practically had to disconnect the goddamn phone because of you."

"Folks have been calling?"

"Someone got wind that you lived here, and it was all downhill from there. So, where have you been?"

"I don't know," I said, as I sat on the couch with a sigh. "Last thing I remember is the Siege Engine. I woke up earlier this evening in some condemned apartment building."

"Are you okay?" asked Isiah, as he sat next to me on the couch.

"Still working on that. So, the world knows I'm Bush43 now?"

"What? No, no one's said anything."

"No shit?"

"Why would they?"

"Erlend outted me in front of Jordan and Self Thursday," I said. "Right after he fired me."

"So, you didn't resign?"

"Is that what they're saying?"

"Yeah, you resigned after the Mayor said he would be turning Bush43 over to the Australian authorities."

"Which conveniently explains the fight in front of City Hall."

"That's been the headline," Isiah said, as he got to his feet. "You want a drink?"

"I'm fine," I said, as he went to the kitchen. "What have they said about that?"

"Well, the big deal is the Siege Engine," Isiah shouted from the kitchen. "The Australian government sent it for you, and the Mayor's pissed about it."

"Shocker."

Isiah came back from the kitchen with a couple beers and held one out to me. I took it, despite having said I didn't want it.

"No, I mean real pissed. The word 'war' has been tossed around by both sides."

"No shit?"

"Less by the feds, but, just the same, they're now officially calling Romanov a terrorist and saying he must resign or else."

"How's the city reacting?"

"Wait and see, I guess."

"What's the city saying about Bush43?"

"A lot of folks saw Weisz pull you out, but no one's seen him since. There's talk of a split within the New Mages. Some folks think you've switched sides."

"They think I'm with the federal government?"

"That's the rumor."

"And for me the City Hall guy?"

"Vacation. At least, that's what I've been telling folks."

"Vacation where?"

"Some retiree nudist colony."

"Thanks."

We both knocked our beers back and then sat in silence for a few moments.

"Cassandra called for you," he said finally, and I nearly dropped my drink.

"Is she okay?"

"She sounded it. Was looking for you, trying to see if you were all right."

I stood up.

"Is she home?"

"She didn't say," Isiah said. "You should call her before you go running over there."

"Yeah," I said, looking to the phone and taking another swig of beer. "Shit, how did she sound?"

"She sounded fine. You know Millennium Man's back?"

"Yeah, I heard. And, he's supposed to be taking down the Paper District."

"I hadn't heard that."

"I need to get to City Hall."

"But, you resigned," Isiah said with a smirk.

"So, I won't do any work."

"Jeffery, I think the Mayor has made it quite obvious that he doesn't want your input or you around, to be quite honest."

"All the more reason to go."

"Look," said Isiah, as he stood up, shaking his head. "I can't tell you what to do, but I think it's time you backed off. Or went more discrete. A lot has happened in the last few days, man, a lot of things that don't bode well."

"What's he going to do? Try and kill me again?"

"Do you really want to tempt that?"

I didn't answer that.

"You going to call Cassandra?"

I looked to the phone again, as if it'd just do the work for me and settle that.

It didn't.

Shit.

"They're pretty insistent, Mister Carter," Commissioner Barry Jordan said, as he fidgeted in his seat.

"I don't care, Commissioner. After they ignored our pleas for help last weekend, I refuse to simply bend over because they want to accuse one of this city's heroes of a simple breaking and entering where no one was harmed."

"It wasn't a simple breaking and entering," said Officer Michael Self from his seat next to Jordan, his hands folded in his lap, as he stared right at me, cool as ice. "And, we all know it's not just an accusation. Bush43 most certainly broke into the Lawrence and Sun building."

"Are you willing to return those drugs, Officer Self?" I asked, as I leaned back in my seat. "Because that is exactly what they're going to demand we do if we decide to follow their rules on this."

"There are laws..." Jordan started to say.

"There are obligations, Commissioner Jordan," I said, leaning forward quick. "And, the federal government failed to follow through on them for our people. Bush43 procured items necessary for us to properly contain the people responsible. I seriously doubt the Mayor is about to hand over one of this city's heroes for doing what needed to be done."

"There are more reasonable ways to go about getting things," Jordan continued to protest.

"We have tried those more reasonable ways," I said. "Every attempt we have made to even begin to engage the government in any sort of dialogue has been ignored. We cannot allow them to ignore us into submission. The people of this city deserve better than that."

"The problem here is Mayor Romanov," said Self very matter of factly.

"Mayor Romanov is doing everything he can to make sure this city has what it needs."

"Erlend Romanov's presence as mayor is doing more harm to this city than anything else," said Self. "And, as long as he remains in office, this city will continue to suffer."

"There is nothing keeping them here, Officer Self" said a new voice to the conversation, as we all looked to Erlend Romanov, walking from where he appeared near the door to my office and toward my desk. "Nor is there anything keeping the Australian government from coming down here and removing me. They have made no efforts to contact me to even address their own desires, whether to ask me to leave or start playing by their rules.

"And, speaking of rules," said Romanov, as he rounded my desk and stood next to me, crossing his arms and staring right at Officer Self. "Am I to understand that you are using illicit means to purchase equipment for the police department?"

Commissioner Jordan nearly fell out of his seat in his effort to quickly turn to look at Self.

"The police need supplies that you are not willing to give them, your honor," said Self without batting an eye.

"I am not willing to give them because they are not necessary."

"We needed those drugs..."

"And, you got them, did you not?"

"No thanks to you," Self said. "And through illicit means as well."

"You will not receive that shipment," said Romanov, then looking to the Commissioner. "I expect you to deal with Officer Self on this matter, Barry."

Jordan's mouth opened and shut a few times, as he was still trying to figure get his bearings, so I took the opportunity to speak up.

"The police will get that shipment as ordered," I said, as I stared at my desk, avoiding everyone's eyes. "Or, I will tell every press outlet in this city of your blocking it."

"To what end?" asked Romanov with a hint of humor in his voice.

"We have taken the high road over the last couple weeks, Erlend," I said, as I pushed myself to my feet and turned to Romanov. "Increased cooperation with the police, holding the federal government's feet to the fire for failing to do the bare minimum to meet the people's needs, and now you want to prevent the police from getting the necessary equipment in order for them to do their jobs?

"They need guns, they need ammo, they need cuffs, they need the bare minimum to at least appear to be an effective deterrent to crime.

"There is nothing in that shipment that puts your control over this city at risk, Erlend." I looked to Self. "Am I correct?"

Self hesitated, swallowed hard, and then nodded, staring at me the whole time like he was trying to figure out my angle.

"So, let it happen," I said as I looked back to Erlend. "If you don't let it happen, I can guarantee you will see such a mass exodus out of this city it won't be funny. People, businesses, you'll be mayor of a ghost town, and there's very little you can do to achieve your Utopia or whatever it is you're trying to do here."

Erlend Romanov stood staring at me for a moment before clearing his throat.

"Are you finished?" he asked.

"That shipment will arrive, and I can guarantee that at least half of this city's science heroes will be there to make sure that it does so safely.

"And, no moves will be made against Officer Self," I said, turning back to Jordan. "Just because he has done more to ensure the stability of the department than its current leadership does not mean you need to show him who's boss. If you do decide to follow through with 'dealing with' Officer Self, I will make you life a living hell, Commissioner Jordan."

"Jeffery," said Erlend Romanov.

"What?!" I demanded, as my head whipped around to look at him.

"You're fired."

"Thank fucking God!" I shouted, throwing my hands into the air and rearing my head back as I did so. "I thought I was never going to get off this goddamn train before it wrecked."

I stormed from around my desk and headed for the door.

"Jeffery."

I stopped and spun around to look to Romanov, as he pulled his hand from a drawer in my desk.

"You might want to take this with you."

And, he smiled, as he held my mask up for all to see.

I shrugged off my suit coat, as I started back across the office, letting it fall to the floor as un-did my cuffs and rolled up my sleeves.

One hand snatched the mask from Romanov's, as the other loosened my tie and undid the top button of my shirt.

"Is this how you want to do it?" I asked, staring right into his eyes, as I tugged the mask over my head.

Romanov just kept smiling.

"Fine then."

That goddamn smile was a perfect bulls-eye for my punch that sent him stumbling back just enough to give me room to charge into him.

The window to my office exploded, as we went through. I landed one punch into his face, then another, before he twisted and pushed off, his hand coming out of his pocket with just what I thought he would, and wings tore from his back, leaving him hovering, as I tore into the pavement hard.

I was quick to my feet, ignoring the pain in my body, ignoring the screech of tires, as cars stopped to avoid me, avoid the hole I had left in the road, ignoring the people stopping to gawk, looking for Romanov.

I found Anna Romanova instead.

"What exactly are you trying to prove here, Jeffery?" she said, as she walked toward me, no wings, no sword, just a cigarette dangling from her lips, one hand clenched tight around just what I didn't want it to be.

"I will not just sit back and watch this city die, Anna," I said, as I planted my feet and balled up my fists.

Then, there was a sword, growing from the scarab, forming, as she continued to walk toward me.

"You want to kill this place, Anna?" I said, as I noticed a crowd forming, the press spilling out of City Hall, the world now ready to watch. "Fine, but you'll have to kill me first."

I should have expected it. I should have been ready for it. But, after all of these heroic bouts with posturing and monologues, I guess I thought Romanova would take her time.

But, no, her sword was in my gut quicker than I could say "ouch."

Why must all of my last stands happen on the steps of City Hall?

"You cannot save anyone if you can not save yourself, Jeffery," she said next to my ear, as my body started to register the fact that it had been skewered.

She leaned back and pulled the sword out, my body moving forward with the jerk. I stumbled, as she turned and walked away, my hands groping at my stomach, my hands trying to hold me together.

"Is that the best you've got?" I said, as I tried to keep my balance.

She turned around, just as I lost it and fell to my knees, catching myself with one hand, so I didn't go face first into the street.

Romanova stepped back toward me and brought the sword under my chin and lifted my head up to look her in the eyes. To see her smile.

I moved quick, considering I had a hole in my stomach, one arm knocking the sword out of the way, while I pushed off the ground and into her, tackling her and ending up on top. I held down her sword wielding arm with one hand while I punched in her face with the other. I got three hits in before her free hand was around my neck, and I was flung through the air and into the side of a parked car.

I slid down into a sitting position, starting to laugh, as Anna Romanova got to her feet. She looked to me, as she ran the back of her hand under her nose and came away with blood.

"The world is watching, Anna," I said, as darkness threatened my vision, threatened my thoughts.

I caught myself, as I started to fall sideways, bracing myself with one hand while the other held my gut. It was a struggle, but soon my legs responded, and I started to get to my feet, while Romanova just stood there and watched.

"Are you willing to vilify yourself in front of everyone, Anna?" I asked, as I braced myself against the car.

"The Australian government will look quite favorably on your being reprimanded," said Romanova with a smile.

Shit. She was right.

"I'm your best fucking hope, Anna," I said, as I tried to step away from the car, step toward her. My legs held briefly. "You can't beat the Imperial Magistrate."

"And, you can?"

I fell to my knees and wobbled, held the rest of me upright.

Anna Romanova stepped toward me, sword out, pointing right at my neck.

"Do you fear death, Jeffery?" she asked, her smile gone, eyes narrowed.

I tried to respond, but my body wouldn't let me, my voice a croak, as pain wracked my body.

Then, the earth shook under my knees, and the air behind Romanova split.

The Siege Engine had returned to Pacific City.

Romanova tried to spin and bring her sword around, but it was already moving, bringing the back of its hand across her upper body and tossing her aside. She didn't hit the ground, wings suddenly out and keeping her aloft. The Engine reached out for me, but I fell back to avoid its grasp, as Romanova came at it with a yell.

It moved just enough to dodge her sword but not the rest of her, the two colliding and tumbling into the street. I tried to move, but a hand on my shoulder held me still.

"Close your eyes," I heard, and I instinctively listened.

Or, I just passed out.

"The press are clamoring for a statement concerning reports that Bush43 was involved in a breaking and entering this morning at the Lawrence and Sun Pharmaceutical facility in Lorrington."

"Well, good morning to you too, Nancy."

"The Mayor is in your office, and he would like some answers as well."

"Yippie," I said, as I opened my office door and stepped inside.

"You have a ten o'clock press conference to explain this morning's adventure," said Erlend Romanov from where he stood in the center of my office, arms crossed, his eyes glaring at me. "So, you can start practicing your speech right now."

"To be quite honest," I said, as I walked past him, "I cannot confirm whether or not any of this city's science heroes were in Lorrington this morning, as I have not received any confirmations on the matter."

I walked around my desk and sat down.

"Seeing as how you did not authorize such an event, or did you?"

Romanov's eyes narrowed, and I smiled, as I folded my hands behind my head and leaned back.

"So, since you were not involved in any way, then this is not a City Hall matter. We are not responsible for the actions of vigilantes in Lorrington, are we? If these vigilantes happen to be citizens of Pacific City and the Australian government wants us to do something about it, then perhaps they can actually start recognizing us as a legitimate government within the country's borders and treat the citizens of Pacific City as actual Australians and maybe begin taking seriously our pleas for assistance when those people are in trouble."

I unfolded my hands and leaned forward, the smile fading from my face.

"Until then, I don't believe there is anything we need to say on this matter until the federal government is willing to actually sit down and explain what exactly happened, why they seem to believe that we were involved, and what they intend to do on their end to acknowledge that intergovernmental relations are a two-way street because I will be damned if we're going to be dictated to when the government in Canberra did nothing but sit on their goddamn hands, as a hundred and twenty people lay buried and dying under the ruins of Ferguson Place.

"Should I have that typed up and released to the press or just wait for the ten o'clock press conference?"

Romanov and I stared at each other for a while, and I leaned back in my chair, taking a deep breath and moving on.

"Lorrington had four Siege Engines, now only three operational, though I'm sure they'll be fixing the broken one," I said.

"If you had sought me out before your little adventure, I could have told you that," said Anna Romanova, now standing where Erlend Romanov had been a moment before, bringing a cigarette to her lips and lighting it, taking a long drag and then pulling it away, breathing out and up.

"Did Burke sell them?"

"Thomas Lansing has offered his services and technology to the Australian government."

"I thought the Siege Engine was the property of LanTech under Burke Enterprises."

"That is a legal issue for Burke Enterprises to resolve."

"So, if Lorrington has Siege Engines..."

"So far, only Lorrington has them," said Romanova, as she walked toward my desk and sat in a chair across from me. "Justified by their crime rate and close proximity to us. But, other cities may be getting them as well."

"And maybe the federal government itself," I said, leaning forward and resting my arms on the desk. "These seemed weaker than the last one, though."

"Perhaps you're stronger?"

I didn't reply to Romanova or her grin.

"And, what of your girlfriend, Jeffery?" she asked, as she leaned forward and tapped the ash off the tip of her cigarette into the ashtray on my desk.

"I..." Shit. "I don't know," I said, hanging my head and taking a deep breath. "Did you find her?"

"No."

"Good," I said, looking up quick.

"Is it? Do you know where she is?"

"I have no clue, but I'm sure she's all right."

"You're sure, or you hope?"

"A bit of both," I said, standing up and starting to pace. "She's confused right now, Anna. Richmond was fucking with her head."

"And, what did you do to Richmond when you found him last night?"

I froze.

Shit.

"I let him go," I said, more to myself than Romanova.

I let him go.

"A hero does not save lives by letting the bad guys walk away, Jeffery."

"I guess he doesn't," I said, turning my head and looking out the window of my office, out to the city beyond.

"Last night, you mentioned the Imperial Magistrate returning, Jeffery," Romanova said. "Who told you that?"

"The angel in Victoria's scarab," I said, still looking out the window.

"When did you speak with Yehovah Vehayah?"

"A month or so ago, when I had the scarab that night..." That night.

"That night you died?"

I looked to Romanova, and she was now standing near me, next to me, smirk on her face, as she brought the cigarette to her lips.

"That night Layla Burke died."

"And, when were you going to tell me about this conversation?"

I looked back out the window.

"I don't know."

"We will have to discuss this more later, Jeffery," said Romanova, as she turned from me and walked away. "You have a press conference to prepare for."

"What I told you," I said without looking to her, "about the federal government and all--does that sound okay to you?"

"It sounded fine, Jeffery."

"Is it the stance you want to take on this, Anna?" I asked, now turning to look to her, as she stood at the door to my office, hand on the doorknob.

"When have you ever cared what I truly felt on an issue, Jeffery?" she asked.

"When I wondered if one side or another would make you put your sword through me again," I said with a smirk.

She smiled.

"I agree with your stance, Jeffery. Tell the press what you must."

And, she opened the door and left.

***

The phone rang and rang, and then the voice mail kicked in, just as I thought it would.

"Cass, it's me," I said into the phone, as I hung my head into my free hand and closed my eyes. "I just wanted to make sure you're okay. I'm sorry... I'm sorry. Whatever's going on with us or not or... Shit, Cass, I'm worried about you, and I just want to make sure you're all right. Just... If you could let me know, please, I'd appreciate it. Leave a message with Nancy or have Tina relay something or, I dunno, put out a personal ad to the man with the sweetest ass in the city; I'll know it's for me, okay? I'm just worried about you and... Well, now, I'm repeating myself.

"I hope you're okay, dear. I really do. Please let me know.

"Take care of yourself."

I hung up and breathed deep, setting the phone on my desk and bringing my other hand to my head.

I sat like that for a long time.

***

"Mister Carter, the Australian government is calling on the Mayor to turn Bush43 over to the police."

"They are asking us to arrest Bush43 because a man in a President George Bush mask broke into a drug company in Lorrington," I said to the reporter I didn't recognize. "There is absolutely no evidence connecting this character in Lorrington with the science hero here in Pacific City, so we are immediately hesitant to simply turn over one of this city's protectors to a government that has gone out of its way to try and cripple our ability to provide for and protect the people of this city."

"Mister Carter," said another reporter, one from a station in Sydney. "Reports indicate that items stolen from Lawrence and Sun Pharmaceutical are directly related to the science villains recently apprehended in connection with the Ferguson Place attack earlier this week."

"I'm afraid I have seen nothing official concerning that report and therefore can not comment on rumor at this time."

"But, if those items were related," pushed the reporter, "then can we assume that it was indeed Bush43 in Lorrington?"

"You can assume anything you would like," I said. "But, all I can assure you of is that the Mayor had no knowledge or involvement in whatever may have happened in Lorrington last night."

"If it does end up being Bush43 who was involved last night," said another reporter that I didn't recognize, "then will the Mayor cooperate with the federal government in this matter?"

"That is something the Mayor will have to take into consideration if and when we face that hurdle."

"So, are you saying it is possible the Mayor will not cooperate with Australian authorities?" asked Tina Wilson, a question that I fully expected but still didn't want to deal with.

"I believe the Mayor will have to weigh the options available to him and will make the decision he feels is in the best interest of the people of Pacific City."

"Doesn't the Mayor have an obligation to the people of Australia...?" started another reporter that I couldn't see, but I cut him off.

"The Mayor has an obligation to the people of Pacific City first and foremost. The government of Australia has an obligation to all of its people as well, yet it chose not to acknowledge this city and her people when a hundred and twenty of them lay dying in the ruins of Ferguson Place. The federal government has proven itself to be selective in its treatment of obligations between Canberra and Pacific City, and, if that weighs into the Mayor's considerations, well, so be it.

"And, if all the federal government is going to accuse our heroes of is breaking and entering into a building to procure items necessary in the containment of villains responsible for terrorist acts on the people of Pacific City, the people of Australia, then that will also weigh into the Mayor's decision.

"But, that is if the federal government chooses to go about this process through the proper channels and manners and realize that intergovernmental relations are a two-way street. Otherwise, there is no decision necessary in this matter, and the city will go about business as usual."

I turned to my right and ran toward the cops, leaping hard and up and over some of them and their squad cars, landing on the other side among a group of officers on the radio and a few EMT personnel waiting for things to get ugly.

"Pardon me," I said, pushing past them and running down the street, looking to the rooftops, trying to gauge a jump.

One building half a block down was the shortest, looked to be about eight stories, and it'd have to do, as I heard a hard hit behind me, as something tore into the pavement, but I wasn't about to stop and look.

I tightened my grip on the trashcan and jumped. I was high enough and almost there when something collided into my back, tossing me forward and onto the rooftop face first, the trashcan jarring from my grip and hitting the roof, the sound of glass shattering clear as day. The can rolled across the roof, coming to a stop against a satellite dish, the trash bag half out.

I scrambled to my feet and leapt to the side, as an invisible punch tore into where I had been.

Shit.

I sidestepped another swing and felt it brush past me, close enough for me to reach out and grab, and I did, kicking out at where I assumed its body was and hitting it hard. I felt it go back but kept a hold on its harm, pulling it toward me and into another kick, but then it grabbed my leg and swept me off the ground, tossing me into the air.

And, right when I reached the peak of my arc, the air shivered and broke, and I saw the visage that had been dogging me in my sleep for months.

The Siege Engine pointed at me with a cannon of an arm and opened fire, bullets catching me, as I came down, pelting me, tearing at my clothes and mask.

I bounced off the roof of the building next door and came to rest on my back, breathing hard, trying to figure out what the hell to do.

When the fuck did Lorrington get a Siege Engine?

I rolled out of the way of a claw that grabbed for my head and was almost to my feet when a punch caught me in the side and sent me stumbling away.

Richmond did this. He had to have.

My body screamed, as I tried to step back, put some distance between me and the machine, tried to give myself room to maneuver and time to think.

I wasn't ready for this. Even if I hadn't already been fighting since sundown, I wouldn't have been ready.

I'm invulnerable, I told myself. Invulnerable. And strong. Really, really strong.

It came at me quick, charging recklessly, and I planted my feet and swung out with one hell of a punch into the thing's head. It grabbed at me, as I moved aside, and it staggered and fell, hitting the roof and skidding to a stop a few feet away.

I didn't give it time to move, leaping onto its back and punching hard into the thing, hammering my fists into it, trying to find a weak spot.

Its arms reached around and grabbed me by the shoulders and flipped me off of it. I almost went off the edge of the roof but caught myself on the ledge.

I pulled myself up a bit and saw the Engine staggering to its feet. It seemed to be having trouble, and I can't say I was sorry to see that. I pulled myself onto the roof and ran at the thing, ducking low and hitting it right in its midsection, tackling it to the ground and straddling it, sitting up and hammering my fists into its chest, coming down again and again.

"Break, you bastard!" I shouted, as I noticed a seam and grabbed at it.

On of the Engine's arms came up, and it grabbed at my head, wrapping a claw around my face and trying to pull me off, but I had a hold on the thing and wasn't about to let go.

Then, there was a bright flash, and my eyes felt like they were on fire.

My instant reaction was to swipe at the arm with one hand, and I hit it as hard as I could, felt it not just give but rip away entirely, my hand tearing right through.

My other hand held onto the seam and pulled hard, removing some plate from the thing's chest.

I shouted for joy right before the thing's other hand grabbed at my head. I dug my hands into the Engine's exposed chest and grabbed whatever I could get my hands on.

The Siege Engine tossed me aside by my head. I hit the roof hard and tumbled across, over the edge, and fell to the alley below, landing on my back and having all the wind knocked out of me.

I lay there, trying to catch my breath, trying to clear my head and my vision, trying to pull myself together.

I held up my hands, my fists, and smiled at the wires and parts that hung from between my fingers.

God, I hope that hurt it.

I groaned, as I pushed myself to my feet and jumped up to the landing of the fire escape, scrambling up as quickly as I could, trying to ignore my body's protests.

I reached the rooftop and poked my head up, trying to see if the Engine was still there and waiting. And, it was there all right. Right where I had left it.

Not moving a bit.

I flung myself onto the roof with a laugh.

"Is that the best you've got?!!" I shouted to no one in particular, as I laughed again.

I'd done it.

I'd beaten the Siege Engine.

I reared my head back and laughed.

I'd won.

Then there was a sound that caught my attention, and I lowered my head and looked around.

The Engine was still down, still not moving.

But, there was the sound again. In a different spot.

No, not the same sound. A different sound. A different source.

There was another sound behind me, scrape, step, metal on gravel roof, heavy, approaching.

It started as a snicker and then a sneer. Then, I smiled and started to laugh again--but not of joy, not this time.

Of frustration.

Of anger.

Of pain.

The air split. And split. And, I'm sure it split once more behind me.

Metal figures stood around me, the moonlight reflecting off of their dark, faceless heads, arms reaching, pointing, aiming.

I laughed, as the three Siege Engines came at me at once.

And then, there was a flash of light. Then oblivion, eternal darkness, and I felt as if my eyes were being torn from my head, like my mind was being stretched. Suddenly, the world came back, a mess of colors, a blur of existence that slowly came to focus.

And, I was on the rooftop of City Hall in Pacific City.

I collapsed to my hands and knees and tore the mask off my head just in time to throw up.

"That's what happens when you keep your eyes open," I heard Johann Weisz say.

"You son of a bitch," I said, as I spat vomit out of my mouth. "I didn't have the drugs."

"You mean these?"

I looked up to see Eldritch holding a black trash bag much like the one that had been in the trashcan I'd stolen, liquid dripping from the bottom.

I was speechless.

"I'll take that as a yes," Eldritch said with a smirk, and I fell to my side to avoid the puddle of vomit on the roof, rolling onto my back and staring at the sky, as I took deep breaths.

I closed my eyes and brought my hands to my face, rubbing a bit and running my fingers through my hair.

"Oh, thank God," I said, and I smiled.

"God had nothing to do with it," said Weisz, as he and Eldritch stepped next to me.

Eldritch reached out her free hand, and I took it, as she helped me to my feet.

"Thank you, Johann," I said without looking to him.

"Hell, I didn't do this for you, buddy," he said, as he turned away and started walking away. "I only did it so Estella wouldn't start holding out on me."

"Estella?" I asked, as I looked to Eldritch who was glaring in Weisz's direction.

"You two lovebirds behave," Weisz said, and then he was gone.

***

"They need to know we're on their side, right?" Eldritch said, as I transferred the remaining bottles out of the trashbag and into a box stuffed with newspapers.

Most came through all right, Frank Sign's being the only one with fewer than twenty-five bottles. Well, next to me.

My bottle survived.

"Sure," I said, looking up to where she sat on the otherside of my desk. "But, he might not like the idea of other science folks being involved."

"Are we on the same side or not?"

"Yes," I said, as I put the last couple bottles in the box and folded the top shut. "But, he barely trust me as it is, let alone any of the rest of you."

"I'm going with you."

"Fine," I said, picking up the one bottle left, the one with my alter ego's name on it and looking at it.

"What are you going to do with that?" Eldritch asked, as she pushed herself to her feet.

"Not sure yet," I said, as I pocketed it. "But, I'll figure something out. Let's get moving; he'll probably be off for work soon."

The sun had been up for thirty minutes by the time we made it to Self's balcony, and I had no clue whether or not he'd be home, let alone awake.

I knocked on his sliding glass door and waited with no response.

"See if it's unlocked," Eldritch said from where she was pearched on the railing.

"I'm not going to just waltz on into his apartment."

"Then, we may be here a while."

"Can't you send your ghost dog in?"

"How's that any different from one of us going in there?"

"Well... It's just different."

Eldritch got to her feet and pushed me aside, grabbing the handle to the sliding glass door and pulling it open.

"Tah dah," she said with a smile, as she walked right in.

"Wait!"

"Officer Self?" she called out, as I stepped in behind her.

"Stay back," I whispered to Eldritch, as I put myself between her and the rest of the room. "Let me do this, okay?"

"Do what?"

I turned to see Michael Self standing in the doorway to what I assumed was his bedroom, gun out and pointing at me.

"Well, breaking and entering for one," I said.

"Looks like you've succeeded there," Self said, lowering his gun. "So, what else do you want?"

"I've got something for you," I said, as I held the box out.

"What is it?"

"Power suppressing drugs," I said, as I stepped forward and set the box on his coffee table.

Self walked toward me and sat down on the couch, rubbing his eyes with one hand, while he set his gun on the coffee table and went to open the box.

"Where did you get this?"

"This wasn't our first bout of B&E on the night," said Eldritch, getting Self's attention.

He looked from her to me.

"What's she doing here?"

"She's helping," I said, as I squatted down across the coffee table from Self.

"With everything?"

"Yes," I said.

He looked to her again and then to the now opened box, reaching in and pulling out one of the bottles.

"How much did you get?"

"Fifteen for Sign, about twenty-eight or so for Thompson and Cooper, and a little over thirty for Williams. How long will that last you?"

"A bottle goes for three days, four if we're willing to risk it."

"So, we're good for a little while?"

"We're good for now," Self said, setting the bottle back in and looking to me. "Where did you get these?"

"We took a field trip, and I'll leave it at that."

"Did you steal these?"

"Does it matter?"

"Shit," he said with a sigh and shook his head, looking back to the box. "Do you realize what kind of shit this is going to cause?"

"It had to be done."

"It wouldn't have to be done like this if it wasn't for the goddamn Mayor," said Self, glaring at me.

I nodded. Couldn't argue with that.

"It's going to be about two to four weeks for the other stuff," I said, standing up. "I'll keep you posted."

"You do realize that you may have just escalated things," said Self. "If you went out of Pacific City to get this, Canberra's not going to be happy."

"Canberra's already not happy."

"We're talking act of war here, Bush."

"We are an Australian city," I said. "And, taking necessary measures to protect Australian citizens. They chose not to work with us on this. They forced our hand."

"The Mayor forced theirs."

We just stared at each other for a couple moments.

"Look," Self said, as he stood up. "You have to realize that everything you're trying to do here is for nothing if the army comes knocking on our door. And, stunts like this..." he said, gesturing to the box. "Well, you're just asking for it."

"So, what do you suggest we do then, Self?"

"As long as the Mayor is in power..."

"The Mayor will remain in power as long as he needs to be," I said. "And, I will take no part in anything that will remove him."

"But, you'll help the police?"

"Are you going after Mayor Romanov?"

Self's silence spoke volumes.

"The Mayor is here to stay, Officer Self," I said. "And, it is in the best interest of the people that City Hall and the police work closely together in order to ensure the protection of this city. If you or the police make any moves to threaten that protection, I cannot promise you anything."

"Do you want to help us or not?"

"I want to help you do your job, and that is to protect the people of Pacific City, not go after the Mayor."

"And, if the Mayor is putting the people of Pacific City at risk?"

"Then, we'll take care of him," said Eldritch, getting our attention again.

"If it gets to that point," she said after a moment of silence, "then you leave them to us."

Self snickered and shook his head.

"Yeah," he said. "Sure. And, while the science freaks of this city beat the crap out of each other, you wipe out the city while you're at it. Thanks."

"There are your drugs, Self," I said, pointing to the box. "Just do your job to make sure Cooper and the others stay down and keep this city safe."

"How about you let us do our jobs to keep this city safe?"

"Christ, Self, I'm doing what I can..."

"Gentlemen," said Eldritch. "How about we agree to disagree on this point and get a move on? Some of us have places to be."

Self and I stared at each other for a couple moments before I nodded and turned away.

"I'll keep you posted on the rest of that stuff, Self," I said, as Eldritch stepped out on the balcony, and I was about to follow.

But, I stopped, as I stuck a hand in my pocket and found the bottle with my name on it.

I pulled it out and looked at it, studied it, thought to reconsider, and figured I needed to do this.

"Here," I said, turning to Self and tossing the bottle to him. He caught it and held it up to look at it. "I'm trusting you on this, Self. I'm trusting you with that. Try and return the favor sometime."

I stepped out onto the balcony.

"What?" I asked, as I opened my eyes.

We were in the living room of a darkened apartment. Weisz pulled his hand off my shoulder and held a finger to his lips, turning to Eldritch, so she got the point as well.

"Let's go," he said, nodding toward the door.

We followed him out, and he gently pulled the door shut behind him.

"Where are we?" asked Eldritch.

"Apartment building on Grace and 38th," said Weisz, as he confidently strolled down the hall toward the stairs at the end, Eldritch and I following. "Stayed with a girl here a few months back."

I couldn't help but snicker, as I fished into my pocket and pulled out my mask. I noticed Eldritch shoot me a look out of the corner of my eye but ignored it, as I put my mask on.

"You said we're about half a mile down?" I asked, as I stepped past Weisz and into the stairwell, starting up the steps.

"I'll point it out once we're up top. Just so you kids know: you've got about an hour 'til sunrise."

"I shouldn't need an hour."

"Wait, aren't we all going?" asked Eldritch.

I threw open the door to the roof and stepped out, Weisz and Eldritch close behind.

"Which way, Weisz?" I asked, as I turned to him.

"Straight down 38th, that way," he said, pointing.

"All right," I said with a nod. "I'll be back within the hour."

"Wait," said Eldritch. "I'm coming with you."

"Stay with Weisz," I said. "He'll need you to cover him if folks notice you."

"I'm here to help you, Jeffery."

"Take her with you, Jeffy," said Weisz, as he found a spot to sit down near the edge, leaning against the wall along the roof's ledge. "I'll be fine."

I opened my mouth to protest and stopped.

"Fine," I said with another nod. "Let's go."

***

"What's the plan?" Eldritch shouted to me, as we ran across the rooftops.

We both leapt over a street in unison, hitting the opposite building and keeping up our sprint.

"I'll need you to run interference," I yelled back. "Distract them from the outside, while I get in and find this shit."

"How are you going to carry it?"

"What?"

"The bottles," she yelled. "You're going to need to grab a bunch; how are you going to transport them?"

Shit.

Lots of tiny bottles. How the hell was I going to move them? Especially while running across rooftops?

"I hope they've got something," I yelled back, and we kept going.

The Lawrence and Sun Pharmaceutical building stood out ahead of us, taller than the surrounding buildings yet looking more like an office building than any sort of production facility.

We both stopped about a block and a half back and stared at the building, as I tried to work out a plan of action.

"I need you to do your thing, Eldritch. I'll go around back and give you about a minute."

"Where do we meet afterwards?"

"Take fifteen minutes to mess with these guys and then make a break for it. Do whatever you have to to lose them and meet me back at Weisz in thirty minutes, forty tops."

"Is fifteen minutes enough time for you?"

"It's enough time to keep some of them away from me. If I'm not back with you and Weisz in forty-five minutes, you guys leave without me."

"Out of the question."

"Eldritch, if I'm not back in forty-five minutes, just go."

"If you're not back in forty minutes, we're coming back for you."

She glared at me in a way that told me I was not going to win that fight.

"An hour," I said. "If I'm not back there an hour from now, you can come looking, but give me an hour to make it back."

"Forty-five minutes, Jeffery," she said. "From now."

And, she ran and leapt across to another building, heading straight for Lawrence and Sun.

"Forty-five minutes," I said aloud and started to take a roundabout approach to the back of the building.

I didn't bother waiting the full fifteen minutes before running and jumping hard to reach the top of the Lawrence and Sun building.

I wasn't about to put Eldritch's ass on the line by making her the center of attention.

I kicked in the door to the stairwell and started down, going through the first door I reached and running down the hall toward the elevators.

Fifteenth floor. I needed to be on the fifth.

I reached the elevators and was quick with a punch to the center of the doors, widening the gap just enough to fit my fingers in and pull them apart.

Going down.

I leapt into the elevator shaft and plummeted down, tearing through the top of the elevator and hitting the floor that just barely held. The light over the doors said I was on the fourth floor, so I jumped back up through the hole I'd made and found the ladder on the side of the shaft, climbing up a floor and prying the doors open on the fifth.

I looked both ways and noticed I was clear before stepping out and approaching the door just across the way. A keypad was right next to the door, and I pulled out the piece of paper from Richmond.

Five digits.

And, they worked.

The door clicked, and I quickly let myself inside.

I stepped into a small room of a few computers with a glass wall to a larger one filled with rows of shelves beyond.

Shit, how was I going to find this stuff?

I tried one of the computers and found it on, the screen asking for just what I prayed it would.

Serial number.

This was too easy.

I punched in the first number on the list and hit enter. Dean Williams's picture popped up with his name and address next to it, a brief profile underneath.

And at the bottom was a letter and number.

D3.

I looked up to the room of shelves beyond, each row marked at the top with a big letter.

Bingo.

"D3," I said aloud, as I quickly looked for a pen and found one, jotting the shelf location down next to Dean's number and moving onto the next one.

Dean Williams, Roger Thompson, Simon Cooper, Frank Sign, all of them popped up just the same with their locations.

Last but not least.

I took a deep breath, as I typed in my number, hit enter, and looked at my watch.

I was pushing ten minutes.

Too long.

No picture popped up, the only name appearing being "Bush43" and the rest of the data blank. The brief profile simply said "CLASSIFIED".

"Shit," I said aloud, as I wrote the shelf location down.

Someone somewhere knew something that they weren't willing to tell.

"Shit," I said again, as I went for the door to the room beyond.

I moved quick, starting at one end and moving along.

Simon was on B, and I found three boxes above a tag with his name and serial code. I took one off the shelf and opened it up to find it packed with fifteen bottles.

"Yes!"

I grabbed all three boxes and moved along. I found Dean's next with three boxes as well, and then it dawned on me that I was going to have to transport these things.

I went back to the computer room and checked my watch.

Past fifteen minutes in. Tack on the ten to get around back, and I was taking way too freakin' long.

I needed a box. Something.

Nothing was in the room.

But, there was a round trashcan a couple feet tall.

I stuck Simon's boxes in the thing and picked it up, going back into the room and grabbing Dean's boxes and moving along. Frank's were next, and he only had two boxes, but they'd have to do. Roger had a few, and they went right into the trashcan.

I saved the best for last.

I found the shelves that supposedly held the cocktail for me and looked for my name. Or, rather, my alter ego.

There it was: the tag on the shelf; name and serial code.

And one box above it.

Only one?

I grabbed it and hesitated, about to throw it into the trashcan and then thinking twice.

Why would I want this crap?

I threw the box on the ground, the bottles breaking in the box, a couple hopping out as the box fell apart on impact. I stomped on the mess for good measure and was about to crush the last bottle when I hesitated again.

Why would I want any of this?

Shit.

I bent over and grabbed the last bottle, tossing it in the trashcan and setting the bin down, tying the bag shut before picking it up again and heading out.

I stepped into the hallway without looking, stupid me.

"FREEZE!" I heard shouted, and I looked up quick to see a couple of security guys standing with guns ready.

I leapt into the still open elevator shaft, ignoring the crack of bullets flying past where I had been.

I hit the elevator roof and jumped into the box itself, hitting the button for the lobby and hoping I hadn't damaged the whole thing too much. The muzak on the overhead was reassuring in that respect, the elevator actually moving solidifying my confidence in the contraption.

I looked to my watch and cursed again.

Thirty minutes since I'd left Eldritch.

The elevator doors opened to the lobby full of cops and the baton brigade, guns out, all ready and waiting for me.

"Evening, ladies and gents," I said, as I tightened my grip on the trashcan under my arm and stepped off the elevator.

"That'll be far enough, Bush," shouted one of the lead officers, a smile spreading across his face.

"Gosh, I guess you guys got me," I said with a smile of my own, not that any of them could see it.

"Set the, uh, trashcan down," said the man. "And put your hands in the air."

"How about I hold onto the, uh, trashcan, and you guys just let me leave?"

The man moved one hand from the butt of his gun and to his ear, listening to something, and his smile grew just a bit wider, more sinister.

"Is someone telling you a naughty joke?" I asked. "You really should share with the rest of us."

"Back out," he said, gesturing to the other officers around him, and they all started to edge back, a few leaving through the doors to the building, but everyone still kept their guns on me.

"You're free to go, Bush," said the man, lowering his gun, still smiling.

I noticed some commotion on the street, officers moving back from the building, vehicles pulling back, the street just out the doors practically clearing out.

"Are you guys making room for the red carpet?" I asked and got no response.

A clear path was laid out for me leading straight out the front door and to the street beyond.

This was a trap.

But for what? I'm invulnerable and strong as hell.

"You," I said, pointing at the man who had done all the talking. "You go first. And you, Twitchy," I said, pointing to a very nervous officer that stood next to the talker. "Put your gun down and come here."

The talker held his hand up to halt any potential movement from twitchy.

"You are free to go, Bush," he said, his smile gone, his glare very frightening were I twelve.

"Yeah, I trust you guys to no end. Gimmie Twitchy and lead the way."

"I thought you were a hero?"

"You must be thinking of the Bush outta Pacific City."

"You're not the same one?"

"You wanna try me?"

Mister Talkative held his gun up and fired, his shot getting me square in the chest.

"Shit!" I said, my free hand tugging the front of my shirt and untucking it, the flattened slug clattering to the ground.

"Two Bushes in two cities who are both invulnerable?"

"What can I say? I liked the other guy's style."

"Go," he said, nodding at the door.

"Lead the way," I said, nodding at the same door.

He shrugged and turned, heading for the door. I followed, giving him a couple yards lead, as I looked around, watched the other folks who just stood with their guns out and waited.

The talker stepped out of the building and onto the sidewalk, waiving to the other officers to stand down, but they stayed where they were, waiting for me, waiting for something, all back and away from the street right in front of the building but still very close.

I stepped out and onto the sidewalk, as talker made it to the street.

"Hold up," I yelled to him and he stopped. "Stay right there."

Something wasn't right.

I started to cross the sidewalk but froze when I heard it, a stomp in the street, and the pavement cracked just beyond the talker.

But, nothing was there.

Nothing I could see.

"Oh, shit."

I was back into Pacific City and across the street from her apartment before the adrenalin started wearing off and my arm reminded me how much it hurt. I stumbled near the edge of the rooftop and stopped, clutching at my arm, as I clenched my teeth.

A good portion of my sleeve was soaked with blood and sweat, and I probably needed quite a few stitches, if not a good healing job from anyone with the capabilities. Not that I knew where to find any of them.

Or find Cassandra for that matter.

Her apartment looked empty like I had expected it to be. But, it was the only place I could think to go looking for her.

I jumped across the street and landed on the roof of her apartment building, landed wrong, my legs collapsing under me and sending me down. I yelled, as I landed hard on my right arm, quickly rolling to my back, trying to tell myself that I was okay, that I wasn't hurt, it was just a scratch, just a damn scratch.

"Jeffery?"

A female voice. Not Cassandra's. I leaned my head back and looked across the roof to see Eldritch walking my way.

"Go away, Eldritch," I said, quickly getting to my feet and readying myself. "Leave her alone!"

"She's not here, Jeffery," Eldritch said.

"Good."

"I was trying to find you earlier. I thought you'd be with her."

"Anna didn't send you here?"

"Why would Anna send me here? Christ, Jeffery, what happened to you?"

"Nothing," I said, as I walked past her and toward the door to the stairwell.

"Damn it, Jeffery, I'm trying to help you out. Talk to me here."

"Anna and Victoria went for her, Eldritch," I said, as I spun around to face her. "And, there was a fight, okay?"

"Are you okay?"

"No, I'm not okay. No one's okay. We're all fucked, and it's because Anna and Erlend are too goddamn single minded to see the world's falling apart around them."

"What...?"

"The Imperial Magistrate's coming back, Eldritch. The big angel with her army and guns that killed my parents is coming back, and there's not a goddamn thing we can do about it."

I pulled the mask off and shook my head.

"What's the fucking use of any of this?" I asked, shaking my mask in her direction. "Why should I care so goddamn much when all everyone is going to do is ignore what needs to be done or worse: prevent me from trying my damnedest to save some fucking lives? How many more have to die before we start doing our damn jobs around here?"

I dropped my arm to my side, my mask dangling, as I closed my eyes and leaned my head back, taking deep breaths, wishing this were all just a bad dream.

"I'm tired, Eldritch," I said into the sky, but I'm sure she heard me.

"I've been to space, Eldritch," I said, moving my head down and looking to her, forcing a smile on my face. "How many people can say that? I've been to fucking outer space, and I haven't had a moment to even reflect on it."

"Jeffery," Eldritch said, as she approached me, a gentle touch on my arm, my bad arm, just above the cut. "You're tired; you're hurt. Let's get you fixed up, okay?"

"May I speak with him first?"

I nearly growled, as I spun to face Professor William Richmond, as he walked from the door to the stairwell, his granddaughter at his side, Gallows just behind him, to the side, in a prime position to move if I tried anything.

And, I didn't care.

I charged at Richmond, and Gallows moved around to come between us, just like I thought she would. I went low and punched hard into her gut, my other fist coming quick across her face and sending her stumbling to the side, stunned. I didn't wait for her to get her bearings, closing in quick and throwing one hell of an uppercut that sent her onto her back. I walked next to her, bent over, and grabbed the collar of her leather outfit, gripped it hard, and, with a shout, tossed her ass over the edge of the roof.

I spun on Richmond.

"I am impressed," he said, Angela hiding behind him, as he didn't show a sign of fright.

I grabbed his collar and lifted him into the air, ignoring Angela's squeal, as I hoisted him a foot off the ground.

"What did you do to her?!" I demanded.

"Merely made a few suggestions," Richmond said with a smirk.

I tossed him aside, moving toward him, as he tumbled across the rooftop, and grabbing him again, just as he came to a stop.

"What kind of suggestions?!" I shouted, as I hoisted him to his feet and wrapped a hand around his throat.

"You're not ready," he croaked. "You have to be ready if you are to survive."

"I am not here for you to fuck with, Richmond!" I shouted, as I shoved him back, stumbling and falling onto his back. I spun around and ducked, as Gallows came around with a punch that would have taken my head off. I slugged her in the gut again, came with another punched straight into her chest, and pushed her back to get some distance between us.

She stopped, planted her feet, and, with a shout, came at me again only to be interrupted by a ghost dog leaping on her from the side.

About time Eldritch decided to join in.

I turned back on Richmond, as he was getting to his feet.

"You must continue to be tested if you can even hope to stop her, Jeffery," said Richmond. "I am trying to help you."

"Help me?" I said, as he took a step back with each one I took forward. "By blowing up Ferguson and Carriage Hill? By turning my friends against me? By trying to kill me?"

"I merely made suggestions, Jeffery," said Richmond. "What happened after that was beyond my control."

"BULLSHIT!"

He reached the edge of the roof, tripped, and fell back. I moved quick and grabbed his shirt collar before he went over the edge.

I tossed him back onto the roof and watched, as he rolled to a stop. Gallows was still trying to struggle under the ghost dog, as Eldritch stood a few feet away, arms crossed, watching the scene intently.

"Get out of my city," I said to Richmond, as he started to push himself to his feet. "You and all of your people, I want them out. And, I swear to God, if any of you step one foot in Pacific City again, it will be the last thing you ever do."

"You don't kill, Jeffery," said Richmond, as he got to his feet, smiling slightly. "It's not your way."

"I'm pretty certain Eldritch does not share my reservations, Professor," I said. "I want your psychic out of Cassandra's head, I want you and any of your agents out of here before dawn, and if I ever get wind of you again..."

I left that hanging, looking from Richmond to Gallows and then to Angela who stood near the doorway, nowhere to go, nowhere to hide from what was happening.

"I'm sorry you had to see this," I said to her.

She just stared at me, not scared, not worried, passive, almost as if nothing had happened.

"Where is Cassandra right now, Richmond?" I asked, as I waved to Eldritch, and she called the ghost dog off of Gallows.

"I do not know," Richmond said, as he hobbled toward where Angela stood.

"Bullshit!" I said.

Gallows leapt to her feet and seemed to consider coming at me, at Eldritch, at anyone, but hesitated and then backed down, instead moving to Richmond and helping support him as he walked.

"Neither of us would gain from my keeping her from you, Jeffery," said Richmond. "If I knew where she was, I would tell you, but, as it is, I do not know."

I watched Gallows guide the old man toward the doorway when I suddenly thought of that piece of paper.

"And, what's the fifth set of numbers?" I asked.

Richmond paused and looked at me.

"The paper you gave me yesterday. There are five serial numbers. Who's the fifth one?"

"The shorter number is for keypad access to the room, Jeffery," said Richmond, as he started walking toward the stairwell again.

"Who's the fifth serial code, Richmond?"

He stopped again, looked my way, and grinned.

"You are."

***

"You can't possibly be thinking of going there now."

Eldritch was slightly behind me, following me down the hall, as I quickly made my way toward the Mayor's office.

"We need that stuff sooner rather than later," I said.

"You weren't in such a hurry before, Jeffery. What does their having a drug for you change?"

I stopped and turned to her.

"It changes my understanding of the situation, Eldritch."

"Jeffery..."

"We need this stuff sooner rather than later, Eldritch."

I turned and started toward the door to the Mayor's office.

"And, what about Cassandra?"

That got me to stop again. I closed my eyes and hung my head.

Damn it.

Priorities.

"She's a big girl, Eldritch," I said, looking to her over my shoulder. "My priority is the safety of this city. That's what heroes do, right?"

She didn't respond, as I opened the door.

The office was empty, as I stormed in and looked around.

"Erlend!" I shouted. "Anna!"

"They're not here, Jeffery," Eldritch said, as she stepped into the room.

"They're fucking here," I said through clenched teeth. "Or, they can hear us."

"Maybe they're just ignoring you," said a new voice, and I spun to see Johann Weisz, stepping from the bathroom attached to the office, drying his hands with a paper towel, smirk on his face.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" I asked with a glare.

"None of your damn business," he said, his smirk gone, his eyes locked on mine.

"Johann," said Eldritch. "We need to get to Lorrington."

"Doesn't Jeffery have a naughty girlfriend he should be aiding and abetting?"

"No," I said, not in response to Weisz's comment, as I looked to Eldritch.

"Jeffery, he can get us there."

"What's in Lorrington?" asked Weisz.

"None of your damn business," I spat.

"Power suppressing drugs for the Ferguson people."

"Damn it, Eldritch, I don't want Weisz involved."

"Jeffery, he can help us."

"He's a son of a bitch!"

"When you all finish this little lovers' quarrel," said Weisz, getting both of us to glare at him, "perhaps you can decide whether you're going to fill me in or not, so I can do something with the rest of my morning."

"He can help us, Jeffery," said Eldritch.

My head started to throb from my clenched jaw.

"Can you get us to Lorrington?" I asked after a long pause.

Weisz smiled.

"What's in it for me?"

Eldritch's ghost dog was suddenly next to him, baring its teeth and growling.

"Get us to Lorrington," said Eldritch, arms crossed.

Weisz's smile didn't falter.

"Where to?" he asked, as he started rubbing his hands together.

"Do you know the layout of Lorrington?" I asked.

"Spent some time there," he said, closing his eyes. "Gimmie a spot."

"Lawrence and Sun Pharmaceutical facility on 38th and Easterly."

He frowned and his eyes clenched a bit.

"Don't know that area," he said. "But, I can get us to Grace and 38th, about half a mile down. You both coming?"

"Yes," Eldritch said, and Weisz nodded.

"Close your eyes."

"Why?"

Weisz opened his eyes and glared at me.

"Just do it."

I looked to Eldritch, as she did what Weisz wanted. I shook my head and did this same.

I didn't trust this guy one bit.

A couple moments went by, and I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Open your eyes," whispered Weisz. "But, stay quiet."

I sprinted across the rooftop and leapt over Main Street, hitting the roof of City Hall and going straight for the door to the stairwell.

Only Mysteria was suddenly in my way.

Victoria Burke stood in costume, arms crossed, blocking the doorway, as she glared at me through her domino mask.

"Where is Cassandra Trellis, Jeffery?" she asked.

"Not now, Victoria," I said, trying to step past her.

She grabbed my arm and stopped me, tugged to try and turn me to her, but I just pulled my arm away.

"What the hell is it to you?" I spat, as I spun on her.

"Turn her over."

"Oh, what, you decided to play dress up and finally be a hero again?"

Her eyes narrowed.

"Is there any reason, other than your personal feelings, as to why you are shielding Miss Trellis?" asked Anna Romanova from where she appeared near the edge of the roof, smiling, a wicked glint in her eyes, as she took a drag off of a smoke.

"Where's William Richmond?" I asked.

"Where is Cassandra Trellis?"

"She didn't do this, not on her own," I said. "Richmond's fucking with her head. I need to find him, so I can deal with this."

"I've let you deal with many things, Jeffery, and they all seem to have the same negative results."

"Do you know where Richmond is?"

"Miss Trellis?"

"Is at Burke Manor, being taken care of," I said, and I noticed Victoria looking none too pleased out of the corner of my eye. "Where's Richmond?"

"I want Miss Trellis turned over to the authorities."

"No," I said, shaking my head.

"Either you turn her over to the police, or I will personally pay her a visit."

"Fuck off, Anna!" I yelled. "This is about more than Cass and what she did tonight! Richmond set up Cooper and his group, Richmond's responsible for Ferguson and Carriage Hill and so much more, and, if we don't find him, we're fucked. So, why don't you actually do something to help for once and let me know where the hell he is?"

Anna started walking toward me, one hand with the cigarette, the other emerging from her trenchcoat pocket, a metal scarab firmly in her grip.

"I believe that you fail to understand the dynamics of our relationship, Jeffery."

The scarab morphed, as Anna approached, a blade extending, as she held her arm up and pointed toward me.

Fuck this.

I reached up and out quick. Before Victoria could react, I snatched her scarab and broke the chain from around her neck, as I yanked it free. I grabbed Anna's sword with my left hand and pulled it down and to the side; my right hand balled up around Victoria's scarab, its legs digging into the palm of my hand, as I brought my fist across Anna's jaw hard.

I let go of Anna's sword, as she stumbled back, stepped aside to avoid a punch from Victoria, and brought a kick around and into her side, sending her tripping back and onto her ass.

"This is not about us!" I shouted at Anna, as I planted my feet and turned to face her again, her cigarette gone, that hand now rubbing her jaw. "It's about these goddamn things," I said, as I held up the scarab still clenched in my fist. "And the Imperial Magistrate fucking coming back. We're not ready for it, goddamn it. And, instead of preparing us, you're fucking pitting us against one another and ruining our only chances at keeping anyone alive!"

Victoria pushed herself to her feet with a shout and came at me. I spun on her, brought the back of my fist across her face, and then my knee into her stomach. She staggered back and brought her hand across her mouth, coming away with blood.

She disappeared.

"Where's Richmond?" I demanded, as I turned back to Anna.

There was a scrape on the roof beside me, and I stepped aside and twisted to avoid the arc of a punch from Victoria. I reached out with my free hand and grabbed her arm, twisted, and spun at the same time, dragging my leg low and I assume under hers because I heard what sounded like her falling.

"What do you want from me?" I asked, turning to Anna Romanova who just remained where she was, sword out, no smirk, no smile, though the look on her face was almost amused.

I tossed Victoria's scarab aside, hearing it clatter across the rooftop.

"Is this what you want?"

I stepped forward and against the tip of Anna's sword, letting it dig ever so slightly into my chest.

"I'm fucking right," I said. "I'm the best goddamn shot we have, and you fucking know it. You kill me, you kill three and a half million people."

Anna just stared at me, and then she had that damn smirk that started to spread across her face.

"Where is William Richmond?" I asked again.

And then, I was kicked in the back.

The sword in Anna's hand collapsed in on itself and back into the scarab almost instantaneously, as I fell forward and into Anna. She stumbled back, as I ran into her but stayed upright.

I spun around and saw Victoria visible again, standing there, jaw clenched, her hand wrapped tightly around the scarab.

I was speechless.

"I am afraid I do not know where Professor Richmond is, Jeffery," said Anna behind me. "If I find out, I will certainly let you know."

And suddenly, I felt like Anna wasn't behind me anymore.

I tried to figure something to say, anything to say.

"What the hell was that?" I finally asked, too shocked to be angry.

Victoria glared at me for a moment and then turned and started to run, disappearing before she hit the edge of the roof.

Shit.

Cassandra.

I started running.

***

I nearly tore the front door to Burke Manor off its hinges, as I came crashing through.

"Alfonse!" I shouted, as I pulled my mask off, while stumbling into the foyer and spinning around quick, looking for any signs of Anna or Victoria.

The blow to my jaw told me Victoria was around.

"You bring this into MY HOUSE!" she shouted, still invisible, but her voice told me where she was, where she was coming from.

I sidestepped another punch, brought my arm in for a swing on her, and connected with her gut.

"Victoria..."

"What right do you have?!" she shouted, a punch in my chest, another upside my head, and then a kick into my legs that sent me to the ground.

I rolled away from what must have been another kick and was quick to my feet.

"What on earth is going on?" asked Alfonse from the top of the stairs, distracting me for a moment, just long enough for Victoria to take advantage and come across my face with one hell of a kick.

I stumbled back, planted my feet, and felt a punch dig into my stomach. I grabbed her arm and twisted it, feeling her turn. I reached out with my free hand, grabbed her hair, and then stuck my leg out, around, and pulled it back in, sending Victoria face first to the floor.

That must have stunned her because she was suddenly quite visible.

"Where's Cassandra?" I asked, as I looked up to Alfonse and planted my knee in Victoria's back.

"She is still asleep," said Alfonse, as he started down the stairs. "What are you doing?"

"Stay with her, Alfonse," I said, as Victoria struggled under me. "Anna's coming for her."

Victoria screamed, and I noticed her free hand was now under her, near her neck, clutching old faithful.

Shit.

I leapt off as the transformation began, Victoria's body lighting up bright, wings forming on her back, and she was up off the floor, hovering, turning to me quick with sword in hand.

Yehovah Vehayah in all of her angry glory.

Not cool.

She came at me quick, lashed out with her sword, and I barely dodged it, the blade tearing through my shirt. I spun from a jab that tore into the wall, and I came around with a punch to her face and chopped at her extended arm, hoping she'd let the sword go, but no luck. She tore it from the wall and brought it around, as I leapt back and turned, the tip of the sword barely catching my right arm and cutting through it quick.

"Victoria," I shouted, as I backed away, clutching my arm, watching the smile spread across her face, the flames around her body intensify. "Please, we're on the same side here."

"No," she said. "We're not."

She held her free hand out, palm facing me, and a blast tore from it and through the air, catching me square in the gut and throwing me back, into and through a wall.

I hit the well manicured lawn and tumbled across it, coming to rest on my stomach some fifty feet from Burke Manor. My fingers dug into the dirt, as I tried to push myself up, telling myself to ignore the pain that tore through my right arm.

I looked up to see Victoria streaking through the air toward me, flaming sword back and ready for one hell of a blow. I got my feet under me, and, just before she was on me, I jumped, hard and high, twisting in the air to avoid the swing of the sword, as she tried to spin and catch me.

Her momentum carried her under me, and I landed on the ground and started running, glancing over my shoulder to see her starting to come at me again. I bent, as I ran, grabbed one of the bricks that had been strewn across the yard, said a silent prayer, and spun around, bringing my arm around quick and hard, throwing that damn brick as hard as I could, as I stumbled and tripped, falling onto my back

Years of playing shortstop in high school paid off in ways I never would've imagined, the brick breaking apart, as it struck Victoria right in the forehead. The blow and her reaction threw her flight off, and she sailed over and past me and hit the ground hard a few feet away, tumbling to a stop near the Manor.

The sword had fallen from her hands and turned back into the scarab, just as Victoria was herself once more, the angel visage gone.

I got to my feet and walked to the scarab, as Victoria writhed on the ground.

"Yehovah Vehayah was right," I said, as I picked up the scarab and looked at it for a moment, then to Victoria who just laid there, holding her head. I was surprised she was even conscious. "You're not strong enough, Victoria."

I tossed the scarab in her direction, but she didn't notice it land on the ground near her.

"Mentally," I said.

I walked to the hole I'd made in the wall and climbed back into Burke Manor.

"I'll take Cassandra somewhere else," I said, as I stopped and turned back to Victoria, not even sure if she was listening, could even hear me. "And, if you want to kill me later, fine.

"The Imperial Magistrate is coming back, Victoria. If you don't get your damn head on straight, we're all as good as dead."

I turned back into the manor and looked to Alfonse who just stood blank faced across the room.

"I'm sorry, Alfonse," I said, heading for the stairs.

"Shall I have a car waiting for you, Jeffery?"

I stopped and looked to Alfonse, still unable to make out the look on his face.

"Make sure Victoria's all right," I said, as I started up the stairs. "I'll be fine."

I reached the top of the stairs and froze.

"You can't have her, Anna," I stated, as Anna Romanova took a slow drag off of her cigarette, sword lazily propped against her shoulder, as she stood in the hallway just outside the bedroom door.

"She is a villain, Jeffery."

"She was used," I said, walking toward Anna.

"She must be dealt with."

"Then, let me deal with her."

"And, how has that worked out for us in the past, Jeffery?"

That goddamn smirk was on her face, as she brought her cigarette back up, took another drag.

"Eldritch has turned out pretty good, don't you think?"

"I'm not done with her yet."

"Perhaps not," I said. "But, just the same, I'll handle this. Please."

"Good luck finding her then," Anna said, and she walked past me and started down the stairs.

Finding her?

I quickly opened the bedroom door to find the room empty, window wide open.

"Shit," I said, turning and running down the stairs, grabbing my mask from where I'd dropped it on the floor and tearing out the still wide open front door.

I crouched down on the rooftop across the street from the PC Fine Arts Museum, watching the coming and goings, waiting, counting down the minutes, as the eight o'clock hour moved along.

I hadn't seen any sign of Cassandra. She wasn't at her place when I checked, and I couldn't think of where else to look for her.

So, I sat and waited.

And, there she was. I don't know how she got there, but suddenly she was on the roof of the museum, walking along casually in the leather outfit I hadn't seen in months.

She was in costume, all right.

I moved quick, leaping across the street and landing on the museum roof with a purposeful thud, getting Cassandra's attention, as she stopped next to a skylight.

"Lovely evening," I said, as I started to approach her.

"Glad you could make it," she said.

"What are you doing, Cas...?"

She held up a finger quick, cutting me off.

"You know better than to use names, Bush."

"Typhoid Mary, then."

"I told you I don't use that name anymore," she said. "Call me Pox."

She jumped up and to the side, brought her knees to her chest, and then pushed down with her feet, as she fell to the skylight, shattering the glass and falling into the room below.

"Shit."

I jumped in after her, landed with a crouch, and was quickly struck with a kick in the face that sent me on my back. I scrambled to my feet and put a little distance between myself and Cassandra, surveying the room, the startled crowd that backed away from the two of us, that tried to get out.

"What are you doing, Pox?" I asked again.

It started with one man coughing. Then again. By the third, a smile had creapt across her face.

"Stop it, Ca..." I started to say, tensing my body, readying for a fight I did not want.

"Damn it," she shouted. "You know better than to use names!"

Then, one of the coughers collapsed, as half the room seemed to be feeling the effects of whatever she was doing.

"Please, Pox," I said. "Don't do this."

"Make me," she said

"Please..."

"If you don't stop me, I will kill everyone in this room!"

Her smile was gone, the glare in her eyes glistening with tears.

"Why are you doing this?"

"A point has to be made."

"What point?"

"FIGHT ME, DAMN IT!"

"FREEZE!"

She quickly brought her hand around, gloved in shiny leather, finger extended, pointing at the cops that had just stepped in.

They had to react on instinct.

She knew that.

I threw myself between her and the officers, bullets biting into my back.

"Damn it," I hissed through clenched teeth, while Cassandra just smiled.

Forget this.

Alfonse had taught me a thing or two about pressure points, particularly ones in the neck, meant to immobilize or knock someone out.

I wanted Cass knocked out.

I made a chop at her neck, but she blocked it, grabbed my wrist, and twisted. But, I was stronger and turned my hand straight again.

Then, she punched me in the gut and pushed me back a couple steps, just far enough for her to have room to come around with one hell of a kick in the face.

I turned and staggered but remained upright.

"Hold your fire!" I shouted at the cops, as they aimed again. "She's unarmed!"

I spun around and ducked another kick. I stepped forward quick, grabbing her extended leg before she could lower it and pushing her off balance.

She landed on her back and brought her legs together before I could straighten up, clamping my neck and head between her calves. She tried to twist her body and pull me down, but I planted my feet and grabbed her legs for balance.

She unclamped her legs and pulled them from my grasp, quick to her feet.

"Could we at least take this outside?" I asked, as I glanced to the cops, all ready, all waiting.

"No," she said.

Then, the cops started coughing.

"What are you trying to prove?" I asked.

"Stop me, Bush," she said. "You have to."

"Don't do this. This isn't you. You don't..."

"You don't know me!" she shouted.

"I know you don't kill people," I said. "And, I know you don't do things like this without a reason. Why are you doing this?"

"FIGHT ME!"

"I won't."

"You have to," she said. "You have to be tested."

Tested.

A Professor Richmond word.

"Is that what this is about?"

"You have to be ready, Jeffery," she said, my name a slip of the tongue.

"Ready for what?" I took a step toward her.

"You must be hardened against betrayal," she said, crying now. "You must be able to put emotions and personal associations aside if you are to succeed."

"Where is this coming from?" I asked, as I stopped right in front of her. "Cass," I said softly, putting my hands on her arms, squeezing gently. "What did they do to you?"

"You have to be ready," she said again.

"What are they sick with?"

"Just a bad flu," she said, as she closed her eyes and hung her head.

"Okay," I said, rubbing her arms a bit.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"I'm sorry, Cass."

"For what?" she asked, eyes open, looking into mine.

I quickly hit the pressure point in her neck, and she went out like a light. I caught her, as she collapsed, and picked her up, cradling her in my arms.

I turned to face the cops, a couple down, a few still up but obviously feeling a bit under the weather.

I walked up to them, one moving to grab his cuffs, as I approached.

"We'll take it from here," he said.

"No," I said and he looked shocked. "I've got her."

"We need to take her into custody..."

"I said I've got her," I stated.

I stepped past him and the others and out of the room.

***

Of course, Alfonse answered the door.

"Heya," I said, as I stepped past him, Cassandra still unconscious in my arms.

"The caveman method of wooing has been long dead, Mister Carter."

"Yeah," I said, as I started up the stairs, ignore his comment. "Can I stick her in my old room?"

"Of course. Is Miss Trellis all right?"

"She's just out," I said at the top of the stairs. "Pressure point thingy."

I nudged the door to my old bedroom open and went in, laying Cassandra on the bed. I pulled my mask off with one hand, my other one coming up and wiping the sweat off my brow.

Running to and from Burke Manor to Pacific City was tiring enough; tossing another hundred some odd pounds into it didn't make it any easier.

I gently lifted Cassandra's head up and found the zipper on the back of her mask, undoing it and carefully pulling it off.

She didn't stir.

I was so fixed on her that I didn't notice Alfonse in the room until he set a tray down on the bedstand beside me.

"She will wake with a headache," he said, as I looked from the glass of water and aspirin to him.

"Yeah," I said with a nod, looking back to her, sighing and shaking my head. "Richmond's in her head, Alfonse. Or someone working for him."

Alfonse placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Come," he said, turning me away.

"What if she wakes up?"

"We will just be out in the hallway, Jeffery."

I nodded, gave Cass one last look, and followed Alfonse out. He pulled the door almost closed, leaving it open just a crack.

"What happened, Jeffery?" Alfonse asked in a hushed voice.

"She attacked some people," I said. "She warned me that she was going to be up to something tonight, so I intercepted her. She wanted me to fight her, and I couldn't."

"What makes you think Professor Richmond is involved?"

"She talked about testing me, Alfonse. Richmond said he was testing me last night. Last night, he fucked with her head to knock her out and who knows what else. Richmond put her up to this, Alfonse."

"But, you can not be certain."

"She's not like this, Alfonse."

"Are you certain?"

I opened my mouth to say something but stopped.

I wasn't certain.

"I have to go back out," I said.

"And, do what, Jeffery?"

"Find Richmond."

"How do you intend on doing that?"

"Erlend will know. Simon will know. Someone knows, goddamn it." I paused to take a few deep breaths, control my thoughts, control myself. "Alfonse, I'm sorry to ask this of you, but could you watch her, please?"

"Certainly," Alfonse said. "But, do consider what you are doing and whether or not it will be effective."

"It's better than nothing," I said, starting for the stairs.

"Perhaps it is not as good as getting some rest. When is the last time you slept, Jeffery?"

"I'll sleep when I'm dead," I said.

"And, if you keep this up, that may be sooner rather than later."

I stopped at the top of the stairs and looked back to Alfonse.

"I've got to do this, Alfonse."

"You are not the only person in this city capable of doing this."

"Capable, sure, but actually willing to do something? Who else is there, Alfonse? We've got a whole damn city full of science heroes, and where are they?"

Alfonse didn't respond, either because he agreed or because he knew that anything he said wouldn't change my mind.

I pulled my mask out and tugged it over my head.

"When she wakes up, tell her I'm sorry."

Alfonse nodded.

"Of course," he said. "Do be careful, Jeffery."

I smirked under my mask and turned away.

"Thank you, Alfonse."

And, I headed down the stairs and out of the Burke Estate.

"Good morning, Mister Carter."

Nancy Meyers was already at her desk as usual, grinding away at whatever work she did when I wasn't asking favors of her.

"Morning, Nancy," I said, as I walked by and into my office.

Erlend Romanov turned from his view outside the window, as I opened the door.

"Good morning, Jeffery," he said with a grin, as I crossed my office.

"Is it?"

"You tell me."

"Is Frank Sign still in the ICU?"

Romanov nodded.

"Shit," I said, and I plopped down in my chair behind my desk. "And, we need to ask the feds for more than just Dean's drugs now."

"No need," said Romanov, as he walked around to the front of my desk and stood there, hands clasped behind his back. "They already rejected our request."

"That was quick," I said, and Romanov just stared at me, smirking, always smirking. "Hell, I guess we're lucky they responded at all."

"So, what do you do now, Jeffery?" Anna Romanova now stood before my desk, the change so quick that it barely registered.

"I think about our options."

"Which are?"

"We again petition the Australian government for the drugs and assistance in keeping these people incarcerated. Or, we turn elsewhere, like to America or maybe even Europe. The stuff is supposedly made in Japan; perhaps we could get it from them."

"You know what the quicker solution is, Jeffery," Romanova said, as she leaned forward and pressed her hands on my desk.

"Thankfully, we have time to work with, Anna," I said.

"Double check with Officer Self on that," she said, and she pushed off of my desk and turned around, heading for the door.

She knew something I didn't. She knew a lot of things I didn't, to be honest, but this was one thing I should have known.

"By the way," said Romanova, pausing as she opened the door, looking back to me with a smile. "Whatever did become of Tracy Pine?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," I returned quick, maybe a little too quick.

Romanova's smiled widened slightly, knowingly.

"And, how is Miss Trellis?"

"She's fine," I said, starting to shuffle through some papers on my desk.

"And, how are you?"

That made me pause and look up.

"I'm tired," I said after a few moments. "But okay. Thank you."

She closed the door behind her, as she left.

***

"We can safely keep him doped up for three days," said Officer Michael Self, as he adjusted himself in his seat across from my desk. "I'm sure we could try and water the stuff down, see about stretching it out for a while longer, but they're hesitant to make what we have last more than five days. Even then, three days is how long we can keep him down on what we know to be safe levels."

I leaned back and clenched my jaw, staring at the little bottle Self had set on my desk, trying to think this one through.

Three days, and then Simon Cooper would have his powers back.

"If they tried to make it last for five days," I asked. "Are they certain that it'd be strong enough to keep him down?"

"No," said Self, shaking his head. "Like I said, we can pretty much guarantee three days, but, if we lower his dose, we don't know what that will do or whether it will be enough."

"What about a medically induced coma?"

"Entirely unethical," said Self. "And against the law."

"Well, the Mayor hasn't exactly shown a penchant for following the letter of the law, has he?"

"The Mayor's not responsible for their containment."

"But, he is responsible for the protection of this city," I said, as I stood. "And, so are you. And, if we must put these people on ice until another solution presents itself, we will."

Self opened his mouth to say something, probably to protest, but I cut him off.

"The alternative is that we execute them."

Self shut his mouth, and I could see his cheeks tense, as he clenched his jaw and mulled that one over.

"We must protect the people of this city," I said. "And, with these people posing an extraordinary threat, we must take extraordinary means to prevent them from threatening the populace. These are known criminals, they all have rap sheets and priors, we know what they've done, and we know what they're capable of. And, the Mayor wants to ensure that they aren't able to use those capabilities."

"Then, I suppose the decision is out of the hands of the department," said Self with a shrug.

"We're going to do what we can to get this stuff," I said, as I leaned forward and picked up the bottle. "So, hopefully it won't get out of your hands, Officer."

"Then, you've got three days to do it," Self said.

"I'll keep you posted," I said, and Self nodded, taking that as the end of the discussion and turning away to leave.

I sat back, as he closed the door behind him, and I looked at the bottle, the miracle drug that made Simon Cooper powerless.

The label with Simon's name on it.

The label with a serial number on it.

I sat up quick and set the bottle on my desk, shifting, as I crammed my hand in my pocket for the folded piece of paper from the night before.

Five twelve digits numbers.

And, one of them matched the number on Simon Cooper's bottle.

"Oh, shit," I said aloud in astonishment, jumping to my feet and practically running across my office.

I opened the door and stepped out.

"Nancy, could you do me a favor?" I said, grabbing a pen and notepad off her desk, writing the address off the slip of paper down. "And find out what this address is to?"

I handed the notepad to her, and she read it.

"This is the Lawrence and Sun Pharmaceutical facility in Lorrington," she said, looking from the notepad to me.

"You're sure?"

She nodded.

"Mayor Jerrod corresponded with them frequently over the last year of his term," she said, as she set the notepad down.

"Do you know what about?"

"I could locate the file for you if you would like, Mister Carter."

"Please," I said, stepping away from her desk and back into my office, closing my door behind me.

I pulled my cell phone out and started dialing.

"Burke Estate," the proper voice stated on the other end.

"Hey, Alfonse," I said, as I sat in the chair behind my desk and spun around to look out the window.

"Good morning, Jeffery. Is everything okay?"

"Yes. Thanks again for letting me use the apartment last night."

"Did everything go well for you?"

"Not quite, but I'll have to fill you in later," I said. "Quick question, though: you wouldn't happen to know how to get ahold of Willie Richmond, would you?"

"Why would you want to speak with Professor Richmond?"

"Ran into him last night," I said. "Another thing I'll have to fill you in on later, but he gave me a note, and I'm trying to figure out his intentions."

"Even if you were to find him, Jeffery, I doubt he would share anymore than he already has."

"Granted, but, just the same, I'd like to find him, have a few words with him, and all."

"I am afraid I do not know where to find the good doctor, Jeffery."

"Crap, okay," I said, leaning back. "Didn't think so, but it doesn't hurt to ask. Are you free this evening, Alfonse? I think I need to let out a bit of stress."

"I am free most evenings, Jeffery. Shall I expect you?"

"I'll keep you posted," I said. "Thanks, man."

"Do take care of yourself, Jeffery."

"I rarely do, Alfonse."

We both hung up, and I again pulled out the slip of paper and stared at it, the address, the numbers, the information.

"Shit," I said, as sunk in what Richmond was trying to do, where he was trying to send me, and why.

Lorrington.

"Shit," I said again.

***

I said a silent prayer, as the phone rang for a fourth time. It was halfway through the fifth by the time she answered.

"Hello, Jeffery," she said coolly.

"How are you feeling, Cass?" I asked.

"Do you mean to ask if I'm still upset with you?"

"I mean to ask how you are doing, Cassandra," I said, leaning back in my chair and trying my best not to sigh. "I'm more concerned with whether or not you're okay than if we're okay."

"Other than spending all morning on the phone with the insurance company, trying to determine if a science being fight in my living room counts as an act of God, I'm all right."

"If you need any help, Cassandra..."

"Don't you think you've done enough?"

What the hell was that supposed to mean?

"I mean financially," I said. "With replacing anything that's broken. Please, let me know."

"Is that supposed to fix things, Jeffery?"

"It's supposed to help make sure you have what you need. Damn it, Cass, I screwed up, all right? I'm sorry. Yes, we need to talk about it..."

"What is there to talk about?"

"What I've done, where we stand, what needs to be done. But, I'm just trying to make sure you're okay and do what I can to fix things I've messed up. Christ, I'm sorry, all right? If you don't want me to call, if you don't want to deal with me right now, or if you want to yell at me, bite my head off, tell me to go to hell, please, do that, tell me, do something."

"Jeffery," she said with a heavy sigh. "There are things that we have to do as individuals that are not going to make this work. Things that..." She paused, took a deep breath, and it sounded like she was trying hard not to cry. "You are destined to be so much more, Jeffery. And, where I am, what we were doing, it's interfering."

"Cassandra, where is this coming from?"

"You know it too; you just haven't taken a step back to think about it clearly. There are things about me that you cannot change, that make me something that you're striving to stop. How can you be with that, Jeffery?"

"You're not..."

"Jeffery," she interrupted, pausing, taking another deep breath. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For what I'm going to do."

"What are you..."

"I really think I could have grown to love you, Jeffery Carter. And, maybe you would have felt the same."

"Cass..."

"Goodbye, Jeffery."

And, she hung up before I could say another word.

I held my phone out and stared at it, trying to figure out what the hell just happened and what Cassandra was talking about.

That wasn't her talking.

That was Richmond talking.

I jumped to my feet and quickly moved across and out of my office.

"I'm gone for the afternoon, Nancy," I said, as I stepped past her desk.

"You have a meeting at four with Commissioner Jordan," she reminded me.

"Call and reschedule," I said over my shoulder, as I reached the elevators. "I've gotta deal with something."

As soon as I was on the elevator, I wished I had taken the stairs. Would have been much faster.

My phone rang, as I stepped off the elevator and made my way to the outside world.

"Hello?"

"Don't go looking for me now, Jeffery," Cassandra said on the other end, and I froze.

"Cassandra..."

"Tonight, there will be a party hosted Robert Saunders at the Pacific City Fine Arts Museum. I shall be making an appearance in the eight o'clock hour."

"What are you doing, Cass?"

"I'll be wearing my mask, Jeffery. I suggest you wear yours."

And, she hung up.

I stared at my phone, hesitated, waited, gave myself time to think, a moment to breathe.

What the hell?

I fished my ID out of my pocket and showed it to one of the officers manning the police tape. They lifted it up, so I could duck under, and I started looking around for Cassandra.

"Morning, Mister Carter," said Officer Self, as he saw me.

"Where's Cassandra?" I asked.

"She's still upstairs," Self said, as he approached me. "Refused to be taken to the hospital, so they're looking at her up there."

I looked up to her balcony, curtains still blowing out.

"What happened?" I asked.

"I'll tell you on the way up," Self said, getting my attention and gesturing toward the apartment building.

We both walked in together and waited for an elevator.

"So, what happened?" I asked, the elevator dinging and doors opening.

"Bush43 did," Self said, as we stepped on. I pressed the button for Cassandra's floor, as Self continued. "He said he happened to be in the area and found Simon Cooper and Frank Sign outside. He apprehended them and then came inside."

"Wait, you have Simon Cooper in custody?" I asked, playing up my lack of knowledge. I have not been here all night. Nope.

Self nodded.

"Cooper's in custody, slight concussion but nothing too bad. Sign's in surgery right now to try and keep him alive."

"Alive?"

"Bush must have gotten a good hit on him," said Self. "At least six broken ribs, a punctured lung, internal bleeding in the abdomen, just a mess."

"What are his chances?"

"From what I've heard, too soon to tell," said Self, as the elevator stopped and opened to Cassandra's floor. "Bush then came in here to check on Miss Trellis," said Self, as we started down the hallway. "And got into a fight with someone who was still in the apartment."

"Any idea who?"

"We don't know, and he didn't say."

I froze in the doorway to Cassandra's apartment.

Damn, we'd made quite a mess of the place.

Police were all over the place, marking things, securing the scene, typical police work that really didn't interest me right now.

I went in and stepped over a piece of furniture that was between me and the hallway, heading down and into Cassandra's bedroom where a couple of EMTs were tending to Cassandra, as she sat on the edge of her bed.

"Cass," I said at the same time she said my name, and she was on her feet and in my arms quick, a tight hug as she wrapped her arms around me.

"What happened?" she whispered in my ear.

"A little redecorating," I whispered back, and I kissed her cheek while we broke apart. The look on her face told me she wasn't too amused. "Are you okay?" I asked.

"I'm fine," she said.

"She should probably rest," said one of the EMTs, as he stepped next to us. "Physically she's fine, though I'd still recommend a hospital visit."

"I'm fine," Cassandra said again.

"You should follow this up," he said, and then he looked to me. "Just to make sure everything's working okay."

"I appreciate your concern," said Cassandra, as she glared at the guy. "But, I'm fine."

"Thank you," I said to the gentlemen, as he shrugged and followed the others out.

I turned back to Cassandra and started rubbing her arms in some sort of attempt to comfort her.

"Are you okay?" I asked again.

"I'll be fine," she said, and she turned away from me and walked back to her bed, sitting down again.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

She shook her head. Fair enough.

"Well, you probably shouldn't stay here tonight..."

"You think?" she said, looking to me quick, a bit of annoyance in her voice.

I didn't start again for a couple seconds, letting that hang, and she looked away from me again.

"I have access to an apartment," I said, fishing the keys to Victoria Burke's place out of my pocket and holding them up. "It's a loaner, but it'll do."

"Is that your friend's place?"

"Not Isiah's," I said, shaking my head slightly. "But, yes, it belongs to a friend."

Cassandra nodded, though I wasn't sure she was listening, not looking at me, looking to the floor, to the wall, everywhere else but me.

"Cassandra," I said, stepping to her and crouching down, trying to get her to look at me. "What's wrong?"

She looked to me, glared at me.

"Is there anything you want to tell me, Jeffery?" she asked, her voice shaking with a mix of emotions.

"What about?"

She shook her head and looked away.

"Is this about Pine?" I asked in a whisper.

Cassandra's head whipped to look at me, her eyes narrowed, and I knew I'd hit the nail on the head.

"Can we discuss it elsewhere?" I asked, holding up the keys again.

She didn't answer, just continued glaring.

"Cass," I said. "I swear that nothing happened, okay? I'll explain it all but..." I looked to the bedroom doorway, making sure no one was there, had been there. "...not here, please?"

She looked down and then to the side, probably not buying it, but what more could I do?

"Let me get dressed," she said without looking to me.

"Okay," I said, nodding, as I stood up. "I'll be in the living room."

***

She didn't say a word, as we sat in the back seat of a police cruiser on the way to Victoria Burke's apartment.

Every now and then, I glanced over to her staring out the passenger window, head pressed against it, arms crossed, hugging herself.

The officer driving, Murphy, was trying to strike up conversation, was trying to talk politics, sports, random chit chat, and I tried to roll with it. Cassandra just remained silent.

"Your boy Bush really did a number on those guys," said Murphy, as he looked to me in his rearview mirror. "I mean, sure, a lotta us boys woulda just shot them dead just the same, but still..."

"He left them alive," I said, looking back to Murphy through his mirror.

"Yeah, but should he have? I mean, this isn't the first time these guys have gotten out."

"We have to hope the judicial system works a bit better this time around, I guess."

"I suppose," said Murphy, shaking his head. "There are times I envy those guys, though, you know? Them science heroes, above the law and everything."

"No one's above the law," I said.

"You know what I mean, though," continued Murphy. "They can jump out, beat the tar outta someone, and then disappear, no worries, no baggage, no nothin'."

"I'm sure there's a bit more to it than that..."

"Take Millennium Man for instance. He killed that Finnegan guy, right?"

I didn't answer, but Murphy continued anyway.

"He got away with that, no problem. And, some of us couldn't blame him; I mean, Finnegan woulda killed someone otherwise. And then, there was those two who blew up Pacific Tower. Now, that one was deserved, but, if one of us cops did that, there'd be hell to pay."

"Millennium Man didn't get off on that one," I said. "Jerrod sent out the Siege Engine in response to that."

"True, but that didn't last, did it? And now, with one of their own in office, what's to stop them? I mean, from what I hear, the Mayor himself has been out and about killing a bad guy every now and then."

"That doesn't make it right," I said, shaking my head, staring out the window. "Just because they can take the law into their own hands does not mean they should or that it should be accepted."

"Not sayin' I accept it," said Murphy defensively. "Just sayin' that, every now and then, I'm jealous of them."

"Don't be," I said, looking back to Murphy in the mirror. "You're one of the good guys now, one of the better guys. I'd take one of you over any science hero in this city any day of the week, and so would ninety percent of this city.

"They don't deserve your envy, they don't deserve your praise, you start doing that, and you admit that they're better than you..."

"I'm not sayin' they're better than me..."

"The moment you are jealous of them, the moment you wish you could do what they do, you admit that they have an advantage, and they don't," I said. "Don't give them that power over you; don't let them start to make you think that way, that they're above the law, above you, that they deserve to be. You're the best hope for this city, Officer Murphy, not Millennium Man, not Mysteria, not any of them."

Murphy pulled up to the front of the apartment building and turned to look at me, his face confused.

"I thought you were on their side?" he asked.

"I'm on the side that best protects the interests of the people," I said.

Murphy shrugged and got out of the cruiser, opening my door for me and letting me out.

"Thank you, Officer," I said, as I walked around and opened the door for Cassandra.

"No problem," he said. "Take care, Miss Trellis."

"Thank you, Officer Murphy," she said with a small nod, staring at the sidewalk.

Murphy nodded to me and then got back into the cruiser and drove off.

I led Cassandra into the building and nodded to the doorman who gave me an odd look, probably wondering what I was doing back so late and who this second lady of the night was.

Let him wonder.

We got to the apartment, and I opened the door, holding it for Cassandra, as she walked in, looking around.

"The floor might be a little wet there," I said, nodding to her feet, and she looked down.

I'd picked the glass up from the champagne bottle but had no idea how quickly that stuff would dry.

"Can I get you anything to drink or eat?" I asked, as I closed and latched the door.

"No," she said, stepping into the living room, still hugging herself, still not looking at me.

I stood there, shook the keys in my hand for a moment before pocketing them, and walked towards the kitchen. I filled two glasses of water and brought them out, walking to Cassandra who was now standing in front of the couch, setting one glass in front of her on the coffee table and stepping back.

"Do you want to talk?" I asked.

She looked at me then, glared at me.

"What is there to talk about?" she asked.

"Do you want me to explain myself?" I clarified.

She didn't answer, just looked away again, and I figured I might as well start.

"A few days ago, Tracy Pine walked into my office and offered me a deal," I said, looking into my water. "She said she'd turn in the men of the group in exchange for immunity for herself and Teapot." I paused, while I took a drink of my water, weighing whether or not to mention the second half, and realized that perhaps that was the problem. I sighed.

"She also wanted one night with me," I said, wincing as I said it. "It seems that her powers, well, when she touches someone they... They orgasm. Quickly. And, it doesn't work on me."

I looked up and noticed Cassandra now had her eyes closed, still hugging herself, tense, tight.

She didn't like what she was hearing.

"She offered me Dean first," I said. "Before I had to follow through on any part of the deal. So, I accepted, though I wasn't sure whether or not I really was going to follow through with the agreement."

I looked back into my water.

"I needed to get Dean Williams off the streets, Cass. And, here he was, being offered to me on a silver platter."

"What if she wasn't willing to wait?" asked Cassandra, still not opening her eyes, still not moving.

"I don't know," I said. "Thankfully, I didn't have to make that call.

"So, I got Dean," I said. "And, Tracy wanted me to uphold my end of the agreement. So, I got a place." I didn't say it was this place, but she probably figured that. "And agreed to meet her tonight."

I sighed, took another drink of water, looked back into my cup, and thought about how to say the next bit.

"To be honest, I still hadn't decided what I was going to do. I didn't want to follow through with it, but I hadn't fully decided that I wasn't going to. I didn't really make up my mind until about ten minutes before she showed up. And then, she was here.

"I attacked her, Cassandra. I very nearly killed her."

Now, I closed my eyes.

"I had my hand around her throat and was so close to just closing it. But, I didn't. I threatened her, told her to tell Simon and Frank to run or die. Told her there was no deal, that she had no immunity and certainly was not getting anything out of me. And that she should be out of town by the end of the week, or I would kill her.

"I meant that part. I meant the part for Simon and Frank. At the time, I fully intended to find and kill every one of those bastards."

I opened my eyes and looked to Cassandra who was looking at me again, tears on her cheeks. I kept the tears back for myself, wasn't going to break on this, not yet.

"I let her go, and she went to Simon and Frank, and they attacked you," I said. "I let her go, and she went after you, and I'm sorry."

"They didn't attack me," Cassandra said softly.

"They went into your apartment and did something to you, knocked you out, I don't know," I said. "But, they went for you to get to me. And, if I'd handled Tracy earlier, if I'd handled any of them any time ago..."

I paused again, took a deep breath.

"Frank Sign's lucky to be alive," I said, looking away. "I punched him in the chest when he was running at me at full speed. I'm surprised my fist didn't just go through him. Simon... When I had a grip on him, when I put his head into the pavement, I wanted to keep going. I wanted to kill him. But, I resisted."

I set my glass down and looked to the ceiling, as I breathed deep, sighed, tried to clear my head.

"This isn't me, Cassandra," I said. "I'm not this vengeful person, this vigilante that takes matters into his own hands and deals out justice as I see fit. I should have had Tracy arrested when she first showed up, should have told the police, the Mayor, you," I said, looking to her again. "Anyone. I should have included other people in this because that's the way you do things, that's the way you do it right and make sure people are caught and held accountable. But, I didn't. I wanted to do this, I wanted to find each one of these people and take them apart, I wanted to break them, I wanted to make them suffer at my hands and then leave them for dead. I wanted that because of what they've done.

"So, when Tracy Pine showed up in my office and offered to give them to me, all of them, one by one, and all just for a clean slate for the two least potent members of the team and one night of physical whatever..."

I let that hang, looked away, reached up, and squeezed the bridge of my nose, tried to calm down, tried to kill the headache that was raging through me.

"I'm sorry, Cassandra," I said. "I should have told you. I should have taken you into consideration, taken everything into consideration, and I didn't."

I opened my eyes, looked to her, and shrugged.

"I'm sorry."

She looked away from me and didn't say a word. We both stood in a silence that was horribly uncomfortable.

"The master bedroom's the one on the right," I said after a sigh, gesturing to one side of the room. "There's a full bath attached if you want to wash up now or in the morning. There should be an alarm clock and a phone in there too if you need anything. Help yourself to the kitchen and whatever else you want."

I crammed my hands in my pockets, looked down to the floor, rocked on my feet for a second or two, and then nodded.

"I'll be here if you need anything else," I said, and I turned around, walked to the door to the balcony, and let myself outside.

I took a deep breath of fresh air, as I closed the door behind me, walked to the edge of the balcony, and braced myself on the banister, hanging my head, cramming my eyes shut, clenching my teeth, trying to hold it together.

Damn it.

I opened my eyes and stood upright, looked across the city, as I put my hands in my pockets again, took another deep breath, and slowly let it out. My right hand started playing with a piece of paper in my pocket that I'd forgotten about.

I remembered what it was, as I pulled it out, the note Richmond had slipped in my pocket earlier, that I'd transferred to my jeans when I changed.

I unfolded it and studied it for a minute.

The fifth floor of an address in Lorrington and a list of five twelve digit numbers, followed by one of only five digits.

"Where are you trying to send me, Professor?" I said aloud to myself.

"Jeffery?"

I instinctively crammed the paper back in my pocket, as I turned around to face Cassandra, as she stood in the doorway to the balcony.

"When they were in my apartment," she said, avoiding my eyes, again hugging herself, as she leaned on the frame. "When they were threatening me and calling you, there was something... someone in my head. That was how they knocked me out. They had a psychic.

"I just thought you should know," she said, never once looking at me, turning around and stepping back into the apartment, closing the door behind her.

A psychic. Richmond had a psychic in his employ. That helped explain some things. Maybe.

It also made things a bit more troublesome.

I hate psychics.

I turned back to the city and leaned on the banister, taking in the view, letting my thoughts wander, and hoping I'd figure something out.

But, everything kept coming back to Cassandra and what had been done to her, by me and others because of me.

I didn't go out on patrol that night, and still I didn't sleep a wink.

I looked to Richmond, as he shuffled toward Gallows and Angela.

"You're going to do this in front of your granddaughter?" I asked him, but he was silent, as he turned and faced me, a smirk on his face.

I looked from him to Gallows who was now smiling, clenching and unclenching her fists, waiting.

I took my time, keeping my eyes on her the whole time, as I slowly brought it to my head and then tugged it quick over my face.

And, Gallows was in the air, leg extended, in an attempt to kick my head. I moved to the side quick and punched at her, as she landed. She twisted her body with the blow, as it landed on her shoulder, brought her right fist up and around, and caught me in the pit of my extended arm.

A jolt of pain tore down my arm, and I tried to dance back from her, stopping as I knocked into a table. Gallows was quick in her approach, and I dodged a hard punch that left a hole in the wall where I had been. I got a quick shot into her gut and stepped beside her, bringing another punch into her back, trying to get to her kidneys, but she moved again, twisted with the punch again, and her leading leg came up and into my shoulders, tossing me aside, as she continued her turn.

I caught myself on a chair, spun, and quickly ducked another kick, sidestepped another punch, and came up with a jab to her face that she easily batted away. She tried to get in a punch to my face, but I leaned aside, grabbed her hand, and pulled her into an upraised knee in her gut.

She wrapped her free arm around my raised leg, lifted, and turned, pulling me around, my other leg clipping the coffee table. I fell forward, but she still held my leg, causing it to twist in a way that it was never meant to go.

I jerked it away and was quick to my feet, limping slightly, as I stepped back, my left leg tight and throbbing. I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Richmond had hobbled his way around toward the front door. I looked back to Gallows who was still smiling, planting her feet.

I reached beside me and grabbed a lamp, chucking it hard toward Richmond. Gallows sprang into action, just as I thought she would, moving quick to intercept the lamp and protect Richmond. I moved into action too, leaping over the couch and kicking out, catching Gallows right upside her head, just as she caught the lamp.

I landed on my feet, as she braced herself on the wall. I swung out and she moved, my fist taking a chunk out of the wall. I jumped aside of a kick from her and grabbed her leg, but she just leapt off the other one, brought it around and into my neck and head.

My fall forward was stopped by Gallows brining one of her arms around my neck and pulling me against her. I grabbed at her arm, as I kicked up and planted my feet on the wall, pushing back, just as she let go of me and stepped aside.

It was not the most graceful fall I'd ever made.

I rolled to avoid a stomp, and my attempt to get to my feet was cut off by a kick to my face. She grabbed my shirt and lifted me to my feet, head-butting me once I was up. Then, she grabbed my arm, turned, and bent quick, pulling me over her shoulder and tossing me over the couch and into the coffee table beyond.

This was getting insane.

I stood up and then ducked, as something sailed over my head and through the sliding glass doors to the balcony. I glanced over my shoulder to check it out which was a bad idea because, as I turned back around, I found Gallows in front of me, crouched and moving. She grabbed me around the waist and kept going, picking me up and carrying me through the doorframe and out onto the balcony.

My back hit the railing, and I started to go over, but I grabbed her just under her arms. If I was going, she was coming with me. And, she didn't seem to mind that because she pushed off the balcony, and the two of us flipped over the railing and into the air.

We tumbled through the air, her taking and landing a couple swings on me, me just trying to position myself for some sort of landing that wouldn't knock the fight out of me. But, her punches were awfully distracting.

She twisted, planted her feet on me, and pushed down, just as I tore into the roof of a parked car. She leapt off of me just fine.

Ouch.

I pulled myself out of the roof and looked up.

"Shit," I said aloud, and I jumped from the car and hit the street with a roll, just as another car landed where I had been.

I looked at the entangled mess that had been two cars for a moment and tuned to try and find Gallows. She was under the front end of another car, trying to lift the entire thing off the ground and having little trouble doing it.

"How freakin' strong are you?" I asked.

She chucked the car at me with only a smile. I jumped high to get over it, as it hit the road and skid under me. As soon as I landed, she was in the air, leg out, aiming right for my gut. I pushed it away and thrust my palm right into her nose hard. She fell back and onto the pavement, sliding past me a bit and then rolling and pushing herself to her feet in one fluid movement.

"Why again are we doing this?" I asked.

"You wish to turn Doctor Richmond in," she said, rolling her shoulders in a sort of stretch, while she planted her feet, balled up her fists, and sized me up again.

"And, you're sticking up for him?"

She nodded.

"Okay, just making sure."

And, I charged her. She stepped to the right, just as I shifted in that direction, figuring I had a fifty/fifty shot of guessing where she'd move. Unless she jumped. Or stayed where she was. Or any number of things.

But, she moved where I wanted her to, and I tackled her.

Only problem was that she went along with it, throwing her weight back and grabbing onto me as I hit her, causing the tackle to become more of a flip where she ended up on top of me, as I hit the road hard. And, as if I didn't hit it hard enough, she slammed my head back again for good measure.

"Stay down, Jeffery," she said, as she straddled my body and pinned my arms.

"Oh, we're on a first name basis now?"

"FREEZE!"

I leaned my head back, as Gallows looked up, a couple cops standing a good couple yards away, guns ready. I looked back to Gallows to see a wicked grin on her face.

"Be good, Gallows," I said, and she looked to me, kept the smile.

And then, she was on her feet and running away. I scrambled to my feet and took off after her, ignoring the shouts of the cops behind us, the rapport of one too eager officer firing at me, her, us.

She was fast. But, I was faster, gaining on her. She turned a corner, and I had a feeling that I should have taken the same turn a little slow and easy just in case, but, if she hadn't stopped, any slowing down on my part would mean she'd get away.

So, I hit the corner full speed and went face first into one hell of a punch that nearly took my head off.

My hit to the sidewalk was quickly followed by Gallows's foot in my throat, pushing, threatening.

"Stay down, Jeffery," she said again, as she pushed harder.

"I am not seeking to harm you or anyone in this city, Jeffery," I heard the voice of William Richmond say from somewhere nearby, but I was too busy trying to push Gallows's foot off my throat and having no luck.

Christ, how strong was this chick?

"That lives have been lost is an unfortunate necessity to save many more," said Richmond, as he stopped next to me and slowly crouched down, slipping something into my pants pocket.

I quickly reached for him, figured, if I grabbed him, I could get free, but Gallows had other ideas, putting all of her weight into the foot on my throat and bringing her other leg around, kicking my arm away, as Richmond stood back upright with a groan.

"You are this city's best hope, Jeffery," Richmond called to me, as he walked away. "And, you know it as well as I do."

I heard a car door close and watched Gallows head turn to probably follow the thing driving away. After a moment, she looked back to me with a full smile.

"Until next time, Mister Carter," she said, pushing hard and off of my throat and breaking into a sprint down the sidewalk.

I was gagging for air too much to give much in the way of a chase.

I rolled over to my hands and knees and hacked and coughed in order to breathe, rubbing my neck with one hand, as I slowly stood up and braced myself against a car with my other hand.

Now, that was an ass kicking.

Cassandra.

I started to move, turned the corner, and ran back toward her apartment building, police cars, fire trucks, ambulances, a discotheque of rescue vehicles' flashing lights. I ran toward them, ignored the cops holding up their hands to tell me to stop and past them, past the first couple cars, and stopping when I saw the man I knew would be there.

"Officer Self," I shouted, breaking his attention away from a small group of officers he had been speaking to. I ran up to the group and nodded quick. "Did you get Cooper and Sign?"

"Cooper's being drugged now," said Self. "We'll transport him when we know he's out. Sign's being rushed to St. Vincent's. You did one hell of a number on him."

"And, how's Miss Trellis?" I asked, not really caring what state Frank Sign was in.

"She was asleep the whole time."

"Induced," I said. "It had to have been."

"She's being checked on. What happened here, Bush?"

"Cooper and Sign where here," I said. "I beat them up."

"Were the ladies here?"

"Not that I noticed."

"What happened up there?"

I looked up to where Self cocked his head, curtains billowing out of the frame of Cassandra's balcony doors.

"I went to check up on Miss Trellis," I said, looking back to Self.

"Why?"

"To make sure she was okay."

"Why, though? Why her specifically?"

"Because of her association with Mister Carter and how these guys seemed to go right for him Saturday night," I said. "I thought that this might be related, that they might have been going for her, and I went to make sure she was fine."

"And, what happened?"

"Someone else was up there, and I got my ass kicked. Why am I getting the third degree here, Officer?"

"Because I've got a lot of questions I can't answer just by looking around," he said. "And, you don't normally stick around long enough for us to get any info from ya, so I'm going to do what I can while I've got the chance."

"Well, time's up," I said. "I've got work to do."

I turned and started to walk away, but Self called out.

"Bush," he shouted, and I turned slightly to look back to him. He wasn't looking at me; he was looking at the pavement somewhere between and to the side of us. "Thanks."

"For what?"

"For helping catch these guys," he said, looking to me now.

"Do you have what you need to keep them secure?"

"We'll make do."

That would be a no.

I nodded and turned away again, walking past the emergency vehicles and through the small crowd that had started to gather, that parted for me like I was Moses, and I found an alley and a fire escape and went to do my roof thing.

I ran and jumped back the way I came, stopping by the alley where I had left my coat and fishing it out of the dumpster. Then, I made my way to Isiah's.

All of the lights were off when I walked in. I flipped a light switch by the door and was surprised to see Isiah passed out on the couch. I turned off the light and crept down the hall and into his room, changing real quick into jeans and a t-shirt, anything but a suit, something that looked like I just threw it on after hearing the news of the night. Something that said I had not been out and about in a mask, leaping around from rooftop to rooftop, beating up baddies.

I emptied my old pants pockets and crammed key, phone, everything into my jean pockets, and I grabbed a ball-cap, as I headed for the door. I had just opened it when I heard Isiah stirring.

"'Sup, Jeffery?" he asked, shielding his eyes from the light coming from the hallway outside.

"Just in and out right now, Isiah," I said. "I'll probably not be back tonight."

"Cool," he said, rolling over.

"You all right, Isiah?"

"I'll get by," he said, and his tone said that was the end of that conversation.

So, I left and headed back toward Cassandra's.

I found myself heading toward Cassandra's without really meaning to. And, I asked myself why. I could go anywhere. I could have stuck around with Alfonse at Burke Manor. I could go bug the hell out of Isiah. Eldritch was probably sulking around somewhere. Or, I could be out alone, on some rooftop, staring at the sky and thinking. I should probably have been doing that last one.

But, instead, I was heading to her, a woman I had been on good terms with for only about a week, who before then would have counted as a villain.

My cell phone rang, and I scrambled to dig it out of my coat that I still held under my arm.

"Hello?"

"Where are you, Bush?" spat the voice on the other end, angry, harsh, crazy.

"I could ask the same of you, Simon," I said, pausing, looking around, making sure I wasn't being followed.

"What did you do to her, Bush?"

"Do to who?"

"Tracy!"

"Nothing that she didn't have coming," I said, starting to walk again, starting to jog toward Cassandra's.

A pang in my gut told me to move faster.

"Bullshit!" Simon Cooper shouted, and I could hear the spittle dancing off the receiver of the phone in his hands. "One last chance for honesty, Carter. What did you do to her?"

There was something about his tone, something about his questions that didn't sit well with me.

"What is she saying I did to her?"

I heard a gasp followed by a yelp in the background, female and familiar.

My jog became a sprint very quickly.

"Leave her alone, Simon!" I yelled into my phone.

"Come and fucking get her, Carter," said Simon. "And bring your mask."

And, he hung up.

Damn it.

I ran. But, being on the street wasn't fast enough, didn't feel that way, and too many eyes, too many questions, even this late at night. I turned down an alley, tossed my coat into a dumpster, and leapt onto the fire escape, scrambled up, and broke as soon as I hit the roof, leaping, landing, running again.

That was more like it.

Two blocks to go.

Run, jump, Christ, I'm not fast enough.

Faster.

I pulled my tie off, as I ran, let it go and stream away behind me. I tore at my shirt that clung to my arms, hindered my movement, got in the way, and I tossed it to the side and kept running.

Almost there.

Across the street. I hit the edge of the roof, jumped, knew I'd make the roof of Cassandra's but something stopped me.

Not a cloud in the sky and lightening tore through my body.

I hit the side of the building, bounced off and fell twenty stories into the pavement below.

"How graceful," I heard, as I got to my hands and knees.

Then, there was a quick kick to my face, sending me up and over, onto my back.

"Get up," someone barked at me, and I was more than happy to oblige.

I stood up to see Simon Cooper standing a few yards ahead of me, arms crossed, electricity dancing around his body. Tracy Pine stood a few feet back from him, a wicked grin on her face, while she seemed to be comforting Teapot, crying blood, not even looking at me.

I didn't see Frank Sign, but I knew he was around.

"Where's Cassandra?" I asked.

"You call yourself a hero," spat Simon, as he narrowed his eyes.

A quick punch came across my face, and I turned to see nothing next to me. Frank was running around somewhere, toying with me.

"I thought this wasn't about us anymore, Simon," I said, taking a couple steps back, trying to look around without losing sight of Simon.

"It isn't. Now, it's about what you've done."

I noticed a blur to my right, ten or so feet away, moving ahead of me, behind the small group and then behind a parked car, gone. Shit.

"I'm sorry if my not having sex with Tracy upsets you that much, Simon," I said.

My body suddenly clenched, electricity tearing through my muscles, pulling at them, tearing at my body. And then, it was over. I stumbled but stayed on my feet.

"Don't lie to me, Bush," Simon yelled, and I looked to Tracy, that grin.

"What did you tell him, Tracy?" I asked, my breathing hard, erratic. Not good. "Did you tell him how you sold..."

A punch to my gut followed quick but another across my chin. I reached out and grabbed air, as Frank was gone as quick as he was there.

"No more discussions," said Simon, as he started to walk towards me. "No more talking, no more banter, no more nothing."

"No more anything," I corrected with a smirk. "No more nothing is a double nega..."

Another jolt, another clench, short but effective in shutting me up.

"Where's Cassandra?!" I demanded quick, as soon as my body allowed me to.

I saw the blur, behind them, to the left, coming towards me, quick.

I lashed out, as it was close enough, my first connecting hard.

Frank suddenly appeared, my fist buried in his torso, and I felt his ribs break, his chest wrap around my hand slightly, as he didn't slow down fast enough, his own momentum doing more harm to him than my hit.

The momentum in his legs kept going, pulling him off my hand, under my arm, sending his body tumbling along the street behind me.

"You son of a..." started Simon, but I didn't let him finish, leaping for him, one hand grabbing for his face while the other reached for one of his arms.

Simon brought his free hand up and around my neck, as I tried to burry fingers into his eyes, tried to twist his other arm and turn him, move him.

We fell to the ground, as he sent a shock through me that I tried my damnedest to shrug off, putting all of the force of the fall into my hand on his face, slamming the back of his head hard into the asphalt. I picked his head up and did it again.

"Where's Cassandra!?!" I shouted, as his hand went limp and fell from my neck.

I grabbed Simon's collar and lifted his shoulders up, brought his face to mine.

"Where is she?!"

Simon wasn't talking. Simon couldn't talk. Not when he was unconscious.

I looked up to Tracy and Teapot and got to my feet, advancing toward them. Tracy put herself between me and Teapot, which was fine by me.

I grabbed Tracy Pine by her arms and brought my face close to her's.

"Where is she, goddamnit?"

"She's still upstairs," said Tracy. "Alive but unconscious."

"What did you all do to her?"

"Simon knocked her out," said Tracy.

"You better not be lying to me."

"I delivered Simon and Frank to you, Bush," Tracy said with a smile, as the sound of sirens grew louder, closer. "I've held up my end of the deal."

I hesitated, looked from her to Teapot over her shoulder, still avoiding looking at me, still crying. I looked back to Tracy, and she gave me a smirk.

"Get out of here," I said, letting Tracy go. "Get out of town. Tonight. Or, I can not guarantee you anything."

"There is the other part of the deal."

"Don't test me," I hissed at her through clenched teeth. "Now, get the hell out of here before I change my mind."

Tracy smiled and stepped to me, leaned in, and kissed my cheek but didn't pull away, stayed there, hovered by my ear.

"Go check on your girlfriend, Bush," she said and she pulled back, smiled, took Teapot by the arm, and walked away.

I turned and ran into Cassandra's apartment building.

***

"Cassandra!" I shouted, as I threw her apartment door open and froze.

"Good evening, Jeffery," said Professor William Richmond, as he was helped to his feet from a chair in the living room by his associate, Gallows. A little girl jumped up from the couch and turned to face me, as she stepped to the other side of Professor Richmond. Angela smirked but did not meet my eyes, looking down at her feet.

Richmond was probably older than he looked, which would have made him ancient. He certainly didn't look as well as he did in his days of youth as the villain The Mind. He coughed a bit, as he stood, propped himself on a cane, and turned to face me, all the while with Gallows holding one of his elbows and shoulders to support him.

She glared at me, as she straightened up and placed her hands behind her back, her dark hair held out of her face by berets, falling over the back of her shoulders. Her leather one piece glistened in the light of the room.

"Where's Cassandra?" I asked, clenching my fists.

"She is in her room resting," said Richmond. I started to move, but Richmond held up a hand, and I paused. "She is fine, Jeffery. She was made to sleep, so we could talk."

"Are you working with them?" I asked. "Simon and his gang?"

"What Mister Cooper and his associates do is independent of me, Jeffery," said Richmond.

"You're timing is awfully convenient then."

"My timing is purposeful, Jeffery," said Richmond. "I heard that this would be happening and figured it would be a very opportune time to approach you."

"Is this about The Seven?"

"This goes beyond The Seven, Jeffery. Though, it could impact that as well." He started to walk toward me, slowly, unevenly. Angela started to follow, but Gallows placed a hand on her shoulder and held her back. "Your course of action as of late has piqued my interest. Your moves to empower the people of Pacific City, specifically the police department behind the Mayor's back, are very encouraging."

He paused and coughed again, quick to hold up a hand to tell Gallows to hold off, as she had started to move to him. He cleared his throat and gave me a weak smile.

"Pardon me," he said. "The curse of age is a failing body."

He continued his walk toward me.

"Your moves are a surprise though, Jeffery. I have had my eye on you since you started your career in the heroics, and much of what you have done to this point has been quite predictable. As most of you science heroes are. But, your position in the Mayor's administration and what you have done with it... Well, let's just say life is full of surprises."

"Get to the point," I said, looking from Richmond to Gallows who just remained there, staring at me.

"The point, Jeffery, is that I wish to offer my assistance to you in your efforts to replace the Mayor."

"I'm sorry?"

"The steps you are taking have long term aims, do they not? And, they erode power from the Mayor, putting it back into the hands of the people who will be beholden to you. As time passes, this power will grow as the Mayor's falls, and, in due time, you will be able to remove him."

"That's not my goal."

"Not now, it isn't," said Richmond with a grin. "But, you will see, over time, that you will be able to do it. You're getting the police on your side, Jeffery; you're getting the people on your side. And, one by one, you're getting the city's heroes on your side."

"I'm afraid you're very mistaken, Professor," I said, shaking my head. "There are no sides."

"The sides exist whether or not you can see them, Jeffery. Whom you can trust and whom you can not. Who has your back and who does not. You're preparing the people, Jeffery; you're preparing an army."

"Not to stand against the Mayor."

"Over time, you will find that the Mayor is a major stumbling block to your army's ability to do what you want it to.

"Romanov is not strong enough to stand against the return of the Imperial Magistrate."

"What?"

"And, you will find that he is in the way of your ability to make this city strong enough to stand up to her. To make your army strong enough. To make yourself strong enough."

"You know an awful lot of nothing, Willie."

"I know that, if this city is to survive the Imperial Magistrate's return and vengeance, then you must be stronger than you are now. That you must continue to be tested to reach your full potential if she is to be stopped."

"Tested?"

"What Mister Cooper and his group do is beyond my control, Jeffery. But, the blame for their existence can be put at my feet."

I took a step toward him, but Gallows moved as well, and Richmond held a hand up again to stop her. I paused too. He was in no condition to put up much of a fight if I wanted one, but she was. And, that he called her off...

"What Mister Cooper and company did after their formation, their specific acts, was entirely outside of my control, and I did not anticipate the extent of what they might do."

"You empowered a bunch of science villains," I said. "What the hell did you expect?"

"I expected them to come for you, Jeffery. And for you to defeat them. As you have."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better about it?"

"No, it simply must be said, so you can understand what I am trying to do here. Do to you, Jeffery. For you.

"You are capable of great things, Jeffery. Behind the mask as well as outside of it. Physically as well as mentally. In order for you to reach this potential, you must be pushed and forced along."

I stepped forward and grabbed Richmond's collar, as he again held up a hand to keep Gallows back. I heard Angela gasp, as I lifted Richmond off the ground and pulled him close to my face.

"I will not be fucking toyed with," I hissed.

"Nor do I want to toy with you, Jeffery. My goal is to help you become what you need to be if the Imperial Magistrate is to be stopped."

"I don't need your help," I said, resisting the urge to drop him and just setting him back on his feet.

"You have no choice in the matter, Jeffery."

"Bullshit."

"Of the infinite number of possible outcomes along this current timeline, the most favorable to all involved requires further training," Richmond said.

"Training? Is that what you call the blowing up of a hundred and twenty people? Training?!"

"Like I've said, I had no control over..."

"Bullshit, Richmond. That's out and out bullshit. You said you made them, you had total control over them, but you chose not to stop them."

"I would appreciate it if you would watch your language around my granddaughter, Jeffery."

I clenched my teeth and looked from him to Angela briefly.

Damn it.

"But, if that is your belief, Jeffery, if you do believe that I had control over them, then what do you intend to do about it?"

I looked back to Richmond for a moment and then to Gallows who was tense, raring to go. She wanted a fight.

"I'm turning you in," I said, looking back to Richmond who just smiled.

"Then, you're going to need this," he said, as he turned to Gallows who reached into a pouch at her hip.

She pulled out a latex mask and threw it to me. I caught it and looked at it in my hands and my stomach dropped. George W. Bush's crumpled rubber reproduction looked back up to me with empty eyes.

"Put it on," Gallows said, a smile spreading across her face.

My cell phone rang, pulling my attention from random reports that had piled up over the last couple days. I flipped it open and looked at the number, one I wasn't familiar with, and was tempted to hang up, but then had a feeling I knew who it might be.

"Jeffery Carter," I said into it.

"Hello, Bush."

Unfortunately, my feeling was right.

"What can I do for you?" I asked.

"Are you being purposefully professional because there are people around or because you don't want to deal with me?"

The latter.

"Just not sure how else to approach this, Miss Pine," I said, trying not to clench my teeth and grind them. Trying to not crush the phone out of stress.

"'Miss Pine'? Oh, my, you are being distant, Bush."

"Tracy," I said with a sigh. "What do you want?"

"I delivered Dean," she said. "Now, it's your turn."

I closed my eyes and lowered my head into my free hand, massaging my temples with my thumb and middle finger, hating myself more and more.

"Yeah," I said. "It is."

***

It was three before Cassandra called me, and I dreaded talking to her. Not because of her in any way. No, it was all my doing.

"Hey, you," she said, as I answered.

"Hey," I said back, trying to sound happy.

"Everything all right?"

"Just busy and tired and all," I said, leaning back in my chair.

"Wanna go get coffee or something?"

"Now?"

"In fifteen minutes or so. I can take a break and meet you over there."

"Cass, I don't know," I said, looking at my desk, the papers all over it, the work I wasn't really doing. "I've got a lot of stuff to get done up here."

"Oh," Cassandra said, but she didn't sound disappointed. "That's all right; just thought I'd offer. What are you doing tonight?"

"Tonight?" Shit. "I've got something... The Mayor wants me to do some crap with this mess with Carriage Hill, and then I was thinking I might go out and about, do my typical thing and all."

"Want some company?" she asked, a hint of playfulness in her voice.

"I need some time to think, Cass. It's not about you," I said, feeling the need to recover from whatever she may be thinking and then realizing that saying that just made things worse. Shit. "Just, well, I haven't been out in a while, and a lot of stuff has been going on and..."

"It's okay, Jeffery," she said, but I could hear something in her tone. "Do your thing."

"But, you know, now that I think about it," I said. "With us not seeing each other tonight, I can make some time for coffee now."

"No, Jeffery, you've got work to do..."

"I can do it later this evening. I'm going to be here anyway."

"I'll just let you go, Jeffery."

Damn it, Jeffery.

"I'm sorry, Cassandra," I said.

"It's okay," she said.

"I'll call you tomorrow?"

"Okay."

"Bye, Cass."

"Bye," she said, and she hung up.

Goddamn it, Jeffery.

***

"Self was wondering if we could try and request more of this," I said to Erlend Romanov, as I handed him the bottle and then sat in a chair in front of his desk. "It's a drug that nullifies Dean Williams's powers, and they only have about ten days' worth. They normally got it from the federal government."

"And, is that where he wants us to order more from?" Erlend asked, setting the bottle down on his desk and looking at me.

"It makes sense that we should ask them first. It's another opportunity to show how they've cut us off if they say no or where their priorities are if they say yes."

"Jeffery, you do know what a simple solution to this is..."

"We're doing this the right way, Erlend. Request more. If they tell us no, we'll find the source and go there."

"Ten days, Jeffery."

"We're not executing him, Erlend. Let's try and get more of this shit and work it that way."

"And if we can't?"

"Then, we sedate the hell out of him until we can."

"How humane is that, Jeffery?"

"It's more humane than killing him!" I was on my feet. "Erlend, we're not having this conversation because you know where I fucking stand. He's left alive. We ask for more of this," I said, as I snatched the bottle off his desk and held it up. "And, we dare them to tell us no."

"And when they do?"

I hesitated, had a thought on that, a stupid thought that was a last ditch alternative that would keep Dean Williams alive but potentially at the expense of my professional sanity and the security if the city.

"If they do," I said, "then we go and take it."

***

"Goodnight, Nancy," I said, as I walked past her desk and toward the elevators. "Don't stay too late."

"Goodnight, Mister Carter," she said back, ignoring the second part. As usual.

I rode the elevator down and walked across the lobby, stepped out of City Hall, and, instead of turning right and walking toward Isiah's or Cassandra's or the nearest bar or wherever I normally went, I hailed a cab.

I was dropped off in front of an apartment building I didn't want to be at but had to be. I walked in and was immediately stopped by the doorman, as expected.

"My name is Fritz Thomas," I said. "I believe a key was left for me for apartment 7B."

"Yes, Mister Thomas," the doorman said, going behind a counter and grabbing an envelope that he handed to me.

"Thank you," I said, tearing it open and finding they key and a note inside. "I'm expecting a visitor around eight this evening, a Miss Laurel. If you would please just let her up."

"Of course, Mister Thomas," the doorman said with a nod and a smile.

"Thank you," I said again, and I headed for the stairs, while I unfolded the letter from Alfonse.

Dear Jeffery,

Be Good.

Alfonse

I balled it up and tossed it in a trashcan that stood by the door to the stairs.

The place was pristine when I got up there. Brightly lit and well furnished, it looked like an entirely different place than when I'd last seen it almost two weeks before, occupied by a man that I didn't care for very much.

I nodded in silent credit to Alfonse for doing such a good job so quickly and sat down on the couch, stared at the television without turning it on, and thought.

And, I stayed like that until the doorbell rang two hours later, knocking me out of whatever trance I found myself in.

Here goes.

I breathed deep, as I pushed myself off the couch and started toward the door. When I reached for the doorknob, I noticed my hand shaking and paused. I closed my eyes and took another deep breath, slow in, slow out, and I opened my eyes.

My hand was still.

Good.

I opened the door.

Tracy Pine stood on the other side, wearing a red dress that hugged her like a second skin, her blonde hair cascading over her shoulders, her smile wide, eyes shining, a bottle of champagne clutched in her right hand.

"Hello," she said, her left hand reaching out and touching my cheek. I resisted the urge to pull away. She stepped in and close to me, pressed herself against me, brought her face to mine, lips to mine, and kicked the door closed, as she kissed me.

She pulled away, stepped back, and glared at me.

"If you're not going to be part of this, Bush, then we're going to have some problems."

Fair enough.

I was quick, pinning her against the wall and kissing her hard and deep. I heard the sound of the bottle bouncing off the carpeted floor, as she started to give as well as she got, bringing one leg around mine and latching on, her arms wrapping over my shoulders, one hand running through my hair, while the other grabbed the back of my suit coat, nails digging into my back even through the layers of fabric.

Goddamn it.

I broke away and closed my eyes, her breathing heavy and low.

"Oh, my," she said, both her hands up, her fingers playing on my neck, dancing up to my ears, her hands then going flat on the sides of my heads. "That's more like it."

"And, that's all you're getting," I said, and I turned away from her and stepped into the apartment.

"What?"

She sounded like she didn't believe me at first, but, when I didn't turn back, when I just stood there and hung my head, took a few deep breaths, she knew I meant it.

"You sonofabitch. We had a deal!"

"I changed it," I said through clenched teeth.

"You can't just change it!"

"I just did!" I shouted, spinning to face her.

"You sonofabitch," she said again. "Do you have any idea what I can do to..."

My hand was around her throat before she could finish. I had her off the ground slightly and pinned against the door.

"Do you have any idea what I can do to you, Miss Pine?" I growled through my still tight teeth.

She clutched at my hand, wide eyed, the look of shock on her face something that will haunt me for a long time to come.

"You gave me Dean Williams. For that, you get to walk out of here instead of going to jail. Or worse. But, you are not getting any free ride from me or this city, do you hear me?

"One hundred and twenty people, Tracy, one hundred and twenty people are dead because of you!

"You should be fucking thankful I'm leaving you alive."

And, I let her go. I stepped away, as she collapsed to the ground, hacking, coughing, gasping for air.

I crouched down to her level, stared at her on her hands and knees, as she tried to gulp for air.

"Go back to Simon and tell him that, when I find him, it will be the last time he ever sees the outside world. Frank too. All of you. You goddamn better run because I'm going to find each and every one of you and break you, one by one."

I hadn't realized she had a grip on the bottle of champagne until it was shattering on the side of my head. I turned my head with the blow but was otherwise unfazed. I turned back to her still down, still wheezing for air, glaring at me.

"You sonofabitch," she croaked again through what I hoped was a throat that hurt like hell.

"Get out of here," I said, as I got to my feet took a couple steps back and stared at her, as she struggled to her feet.

"How dare you?" she said again. I noticed she was crying. "I gave you Dean, damn it. I gave you what you wanted!"

I didn't say a word, just stared at her, and waited.

She glared back, as she rubbed her throat with one hand, braced herself on the door with the other.

"This city will know who you are by the end of the week," she said with a wicked grin.

"And, by then, you will be dead," I said. "Or wishing you were. I'm willing to make the trade. Are you?"

"You're bluffing."

"Try me."

Her hand was on the doorknob and turning it.

"Ferguson is going to look like a picnic."

I just glared at her, as she grinned, straightened herself up, and took a deep breath.

"Go to hell," she said, as she pulled the door open and stepped out, slamming the door behind her.

I stared at the closed door for a minute or two before my legs buckled, and I fell to my knees. Oh, God, what the hell was I doing? My stomach was twisting and clenching, and I looked at my hands, as they shook and shook.

I put my head in my hands, and I cried.

"Hello?"

"Hey."

There was a pause, the sound of the phone moving, shifting on the other end.

"Where are you calling from?" asked Cassandra, her voice tired.

"Isiah's. The cell died on me. Did I wake you?"

"Don't worry about it," she said. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. You see what happened?"

"I saw the news. What happened?"

"He blew his mother up."

"He what?"

"And four other people."

"Why did he do that?"

"Your guess is as good as mine."

"I saw that they took him into custody. See, you held off."

"Almost didn't," I said, closing my eyes and leaning my head back. "But, yeah, he's alive more or less. Thank you for the talk."

"It was no problem, Jeffery," she said. "Though, to be honest, I probably would have killed the sonofabitch."

"Do what?"

"He killed a hundred and twenty people, then walked into a nursing home, and blew up his mom and four other people who couldn't protect or take care of themselves."

"I know that, but still. It's not right."

"It's not something you'd do, Jeffery, and, yes, it's not exactly right, but, in the heat of the moment, it'd feel very right. I wouldn't have been able to resist that."

"I'm sure you would have."

"You give me too much credit."

"I've found that I'm a pretty good judge of character."

"Have you now?"

"It's another one of my special abilities. Invulnerability, strength, great character judging skills, and sexy smoothness with the ladies." She laughed, and I just smiled. "I'll let you get back to sleep," I said. "I just wanted to check in and let you know I'm okay."

"Are you okay, though?"

I sighed.

"I'm trying to be," I said. "I'll talk to you tomorrow, Cass."

"Later today you mean."

"If you want to be literal about it."

"Good night, Jeffery."

"Good morning you mean."

"Good bye, Jeffery," she said, and I could tell she was smiling on the other end.

"Bye, Cass."

And, we hung up.

I stared at the phone for a minute, debating with whether or not it was too late to make another call, but I needed to know, or I wasn't going to sleep at all.

I dialed and the phone rang twice on the other end before it was answered.

"Burke residence."

"Hey, Alfonse," I said, leaning forward, resting my elbows on my legs. "Everything set?"

"There were some items that they could make no guarantees on, but most of them they said would be available within a week."

"Excellent," I said. "Any word on transportation?"

"In due time, Jeffery."

"How much was it?"

"Well within your budget," Alfonse said. "I was able to secure the friends and family discount."

"I owe you one, Alf."

"You owe me a great many more than one, Jeffery."

"Thank you, Alfonse. I really appreciate this."

"And, how are you holding up?"

"You see the news tonight?"

"I did. I also heard that the gentleman wanted in connection with Ferguson was apprehended alive."

"A little worse for wear," I said. "But, yeah, he's alive."

"That is good to hear, Jeffery."

"Yeah," I said, my mind wandering to another reason for my call, as I thought about where I was, sitting in my friend's apartment, on the couch I had called home for the last two weeks. "I have another favor to ask of you, Alfonse. How many places does Victoria or the Burke Estate have here in town?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I know Victoria has that one apartment where Crowley's staying."

"Where Mister Crowley WAS staying."

"Yeah," I said. "So, I was wondering if there were any others, places she's not using that might be available, something I could use for one night, tomorrow night."

"The apartment at the Young is the only one Victoria has in the city, Jeffery, and I'm afraid I have no idea what condition it is in after Crowley's extended stay."

"I'll have it cleaned for you, then," I said.

"Why do you need it so urgently, Jeffery?"

I wish I could tell ya, Alfonse. I really do.

"I just... I need a place I can go to where folks won't be looking for me and, well, you know... I just want one night where I can relax without having to worry about anything."

"If you do not want to or cannot tell me, you can just say so, Jeffery."

"I can't tell you," I said.

"Very well. I will leave a key under the name of Fritz Thomas with the doorman tomorrow afternoon and tell him to expect you around six. The apartment will be clean by then, and I would appreciate it being returned in the same condition."

"You don't have to clean it, Alfonse."

"It has to be done either way, Jeffery. This will give me something to do tomorrow."

"Thank you, Alfonse."

"You are quite welcome. Now get some rest."

"Good night, Alfonse."

"Good morning, Mister Carter," he replied, and he hung up.

***

"Rise and shine," I thought I heard in a dream, but I realized that the dream was over, morning was here, and it was indeed time to rise, but there was no way I was going to shine.

"What time is it?" I asked, as I sat up and stretched.

"Eight," said Isiah, as he walked from the back of the couch and into the kitchen.

"You shower yet?" I asked, as I stood up and stretched some more.

"Called out," he said from the kitchen. "So, go ahead."

Called out? That certainly wasn't like Isiah. But, neither was what he did yesterday.

I'm sorry, pal. I really am.

But, I couldn't bring myself to say that. I didn't even think it would matter.

So, I went and took a shower without another word.


***

"Dean Williams was apprehended by Bush43 at the scene," said Commissioner Barry Jordan, as he flipped through a couple pages in his hands. "Officers Timmons and Leary were the first to arrive and took him into custody, though he needed medical treatment."

"Have you released that Bush43 was there?" I asked.

"That hasn't been mentioned yet," said Jordan, looking from Officer Michael Self seated next to him and then to me. "Though we haven't given any details of the apprehension just yet. That was going to wait for the noon press conference."

"Don't mention Bush43 then," I said, leaning forward, resting my arms on my desk, my hands folded. "Take credit for it on your end."

"Well, Mister Carter," said Jordan, looking to Self again, back to me. "I don't know..."

"Commissioner, you all are in need for one hell of a PR boost, am I right?" Jordan nodded, and I looked to Self. "Do you agree, Officer Self?"

"Yes," said Self, giving one nod and then not saying anything else, keeping very much to himself as always.

"All right, so take this one then and run with it. Say that when Officers Timmons and Leary...was it?" Jordan nodded. "When Officers Timmons and Leary arrived on the scene, they found Dean Williams injured and took him into custody. Speculate that he was hurt by his own blast. Don't mention science hero activity at all."

"But, we need to report..." started Jordan.

"Report to who? City Hall? Forget it; no one here is going to mind you all getting a bit of the limelight. Just write it up like you would if Bush43 had fled the scene before you arrived."

"Why do this, though?" asked Self.

"Because Dean Williams in custody is a win for the city no matter how you slice it," I said, leaning back. "And, if PC's finest can get all the glamour of the arrest, let them. It's a boost for the city; it's a boost for the department..."

"It's a boost for the Mayor's ratings," said Self.

I looked to him and waited for him to continue.

"If the police look like we're effective and able to do our jobs, there will be less pressure on the Mayor to give us more of what we need," said Self. "Whereas, if we point out that yet again a science hero stepped in where the police department should have been able to, the people will see that we are not capable of handling such things and continue to lean on the Mayor to help ensure we are able to do our jobs."

We all sat silent for a bit.

"I hadn't thought of that, Officer Self," I said.

"You hadn't?" said Self, his skepticism heavy in his tone.

"I had not, no," I said, leaning forward again. "I thought that you all could use the boost, but you're right: it could also potentially play into our hands and give an excuse to do nothing to help you all at a time when you really need all the support you can muster. You're right. Thank you. Jordan," I said, looking to the Commissioner. "You report this in whatever way you think best helps the police department and informs the public without causing any sort of panic of course."

"No matter how it happened," said Jordan after clearing his throat. "Dean Williams is now back in police custody, and the people can feel better about that."

"That they can," I said. "But, there are still four others out there for us to worry about. And, I think you'll find them be a hell of a lot more careful after two getting caught so quick."

"We'll handle it," said Self, and I nodded.

"Well, gentlemen," I said, as I stood up, both of them doing the same. "If that's all for now, I'll let you go. Anything specific you want me to cover with the press, let me know."

Jordan shook my head and turned to leave. Self hesitated.

"Actually," he said, looking to Jordan. "I'll just be a moment." He looked back to me. "If you're not busy."

"Of course," I said, pulling my hand back.

Commissioner Jordan left, closing the door behind him.

"What can I do for you, Officer Self?" I asked, as I sat down again.

"How closely associated are you personally with any of the New Mages?" he asked, remaining standing, putting his hands behind his back.

Ah.

"I'm close with the Mayor on some level, obviously," I said. "And, I do speak with Eldritch time to time, but, otherwise, I don't really know any of the others."

Self mulled that over, didn't seem to be satisfied.

"If the police department were to make a special request to the Mayor for emergency supplies and equipment, what is the possibility of our receiving them?" Self asked.

"Depends on what you need," I said, leaning forward, putting my arms on my desk again. "The Mayor would probably be quite picky about what he was willing to allow the department to have, but I could try and convince him on some things. I certainly couldn't make any promises, though."

Self nodded, and we both were silent.

"Is there something you all specifically need?" I asked.

"There are a couple items," Self said. "Some basic things, ammunition and the like, but we could really use more of this," he said, pulling a small empty bottle out of his pocket and setting it on my desk.

I reached out and picked it up, studying it.

Dean Williams name was on the label, a serial number and bar code underneath. Otherwise, no other description of what its contents had been.

But, I didn't need it spelled out for me to know what it was.

"The Australian government had been supplying us with that, a chemical cocktail that stops Dean Williams from using his powers. We have maybe ten days worth on hand. After that, short of keeping him drugged to the point of being unconscious, we are going to have a very large problem on our hands."

"We might have trouble convincing the Australian government to help us on that," I said, looking to Self who nodded.

"I know."

"But, it doesn't hurt to ask," I said, looking back to the bottle. "I'll talk with the Mayor, see what we can do in the way of getting some of this." I looked back to Self. "If we have to, could we get some of what you have left and make some of it?"

"We could do that," said Self. "But, I'd hate to lose any of what I have left."

"Understandable. I'll talk with the Mayor and let you know."

Self nodded and turned to leave.

"Officer Self," I said, as he reached my door, making him stop and turn to me. "If you all need anything, still request it. Anything. And, I'll see what I can do."

"You'll have to forgive me if I don't put much weight in your seeing what you can do," Self said.

And, he left.

At eight thirty, I moved to the other alley and started to keep watch.

Williams wasn't due until nine, but I wanted some time to myself, away from Isiah. Time to make a call.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Cass," I said into my phone, as I leaned against one wall of the alley, hanging my head, trying to sound happy.

"Hey, you," she said back. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Liar."

"We haven't been together for even a week," I said. "I don't think you can call me on that yet."

"Watch me."

I gave a weak laugh and shook my head.

"I'm just..." I sighed. "I'm getting Dean Williams tonight. The guy from Ferguson."

"You're what?"

"I know where he's going to be at nine, and I'm going for him. I'm watching the place right now, waiting," I said, looking up, across and down the street to the front doors of Carriage Hill. "I just... I wanted to talk to you before..." I sighed again. "Cassandra, tell me not to kill this guy. Tell me how horribly disappointed you would be in me if I put my fist through his chest, shoved his head through a wall, something. Just, please, tell me that I'm not allowed to kill this guy."

"Jeffery..."

"Because I don't want to kill him, Cass. I don't want to do that, I don't want to go down that path, but I don't think I can help it. When I get to him, when I get him in my hands, when I get him right where I want him..."

"Then, how is my saying anything going to help?"

"Because maybe, in the heat of the moment, I'll think of what you say, I'll hear you in my head, and remember that this isn't right and that I shouldn't do this."

"Jeffery," she said. "You're not that person. You cannot kill him and not just because I'd be disappointed in you and not just because people will think it's wrong but because you're better than that, Jeffery. You're better than him, you're better than Millennium Man, you're better than the Mayor, you're better than all of them. Killing him is what they'd do, not you.

"You won't kill him, Jeffery. You can't."

"I'm just not so sure of that, Cass."

"Jeffery, deep down inside, you know you can't and won't kill him. You won't give into your anger. You know that. Trust yourself here."

"Yeah," I said softly, just realizing that I was crying.

Damn it.

"You should go," she said, and I looked to my watch.

Ten minutes to nine.

"Yeah," I said, looking to Carriage Hill. "Thank you, Cass."

"Call me when you're done?"

"If it's a decent hour."

"Call me when you're done," she stated this time.

"Okay."

"Good luck," she said.

"Thanks."

And, I hung up and waited.

Five 'til, and he was early.

"Isiah," I said into my walkie talkie.

"Guy in the green shirt and jeans, going up the steps?" he replied.

"That's the one."

"Got him."

I waited five minutes, then crossed the street, going into the alley next to Carriage Hill and waiting.

I figured I had a bit of a wait ahead of me, him having just gone in. At least thirty minutes. But, I stayed on my feet, ready, waiting.

Waiting.

I reached into my pocket and pulled out my mask, putting it on and keeping up my waiting, my heart racing, my breath faster than I wanted it to be, so I focused on that, tried to slow it down, deep breaths.

I looked at my watch. Fifteen minutes.

That's when the air exploded above me.

I looked up in time to see smoke, bricks and debris falling my way. I covered my head and ran for the end of the alley, getting onto the sidewalk and avoiding most of the raining building wall that crashed where I was.

"Jeffery!" I heard shouted from the walkie talkie. "What the hell?"

"I think the sonofabitch just blew up his mother!" I shouted back in, turning to look in Isiah's direction. "Keep your eyes op..."

Then, my back exploded.

I flew into the street and was stopped when a passing car hit me in mid-air, sending me skidding and tumbling across the pavement.

I was quick to my feet, ignoring the pain in my body, reminding it I was invulnerable and strong, that this was nothing.

"Oh, come on, Carter!" shouted Dean Williams, as he walked out of the cloud of dust and debris, a big grin on his face. "Why the mask? Why hide it? It's all but obvious to anyone who's paying attention."

"I like to live in oblivious innocence," I said. "Blissfully unaware, as it were."

"Suit yourself," he said. "I'll be sure to leave your carcass with the mask on--or, rather, what's left of it. As it were."

He held both of his hands palm out in my direction, and I prayed like hell Isiah was okay and doing his thing because I wanted nothing more than for Dean Williams to be out cold right then and there.

I braced myself for the blast from his hands.

But, it never came.

"You magnificent bastard," I whispered in praise of Isiah, smiling wide under my mask.

Williams's eyes widened and then his face crumpled, as he seemed to try and strain a blast out of himself, his palms still pointed at me, his fingers curling.

And then, he started to panic.

"What have you done to me?!" he shouted, starting to step back, as I moved forward.

"Nothing yet," I said, and I ran at him.

He'd just turned around when I was on him, tackling him face first onto the sidewalk.

"One hundred and twenty people, Dean!" I shouted, as I slammed his face into the concrete.

I got to my feet and picked him up by the back of his collar, wrapping my hand around his throat and lifting him off the ground.

"And, now your mother and however many others in there on top of it?"

"So, what are you going to do about it?" he croaked, smiling as best he could, his left eye nearly swollen shut, his nose shattered, blood flowing out.

I threw him to the side and into the sidewalk hard. He landed on his side and bounced, rolled, and came to rest of his back.

And, he was laughing.

"Come on and kill me then," he shouted, starting to get to his feet, his right arm he landed on falling limp, his left arm having to do all the work. "You know you wanna."

He was on his feet, staggering, smiling, bleeding, waiting.

"I'll just do it again," he said, spat out a glob of blood and teeth on my shirt. "And again. Ferguson was just the beginning."

I came around with a right hook into his jaw. I grabbed his shirt to keep him upright, punched him again, and he laughed.

"Come on, hero," he slurred, glaring at me with his one good eye, as bloodshot as it was. "You know you have to do it."

I punched him again and let go of his shirt, sending him on his back again, the back of his head hitting the sidewalk hard, and he stopped laughing.

"When we first met, Dean, I let you off easy with just a kick in the nuts," I said, as I approached him, writhing on the ground.

I stomped heel first into his scrotum and twisted. His mouth gasped in a silent scream, his body clenching around my leg, gripping at it, trying to pull me off.

"Consider that finishing the job," I growled through clenched teeth.

And, I kicked myself free of his grip, leaving him balled up on the ground.

I turned and looked across the street, Isiah standing there, watching me, and I gave him a thumbs up. He nodded back, turned, and started walking down the street, away from the scene, away from all of this, and I hoped away from ever having to deal with this ever again.

I was probably hoping for too much there.

Fast approaching sirens got my attention, a chorus of assorted response vehicles, the first showing up: one of Pacific City's finest. The two cops leapt from the vehicle as soon as it stopped, looking at the building, the people pouring out, then to me, standing over the still writhing Dean Williams.

"What happened?" asked the lead cop, his gun out and ready.

"Arrest this man," I said, pointing to Dean Williams. "He did this and Ferguson. Call for more rescue crews."

I started running to the entrance to Carriage Hill, started running to try and get in there and save people.

Isiah was right. We should have gotten him before he went in.

No time for that now, though.

I had a job to do.

***

I walked into Isiah's apartment at one in the morning and paused, as I noticed him sitting on the couch, staring at the television, a beer in his hands.

"Hey," he said without looking to me.

"You were right, Isiah," I said, as I closed the door, shaking my head. "We should have gotten him before he went in."

"You didn't know, Jeffery," he said, taking a swig off his drink, still staring at the television.

It wasn't even on.

"I should have known," I said, looking down at my feet, taking a couple deep breaths, then shaking my head again. I started walking toward the kitchen. "Fuck, three more people dead because of me."

"Five, actually," corrected Isiah, and I stopped in the entrance to the kitchen. "They pulled out two more about five minutes ago. That's when I turned it off."

I noticed the empty bottles on the coffee table in front of him.

"Are you okay, Isiah?"

"I could have stopped him ahead of time myself, Jeffery," he said. "I could have told you to go to hell and knocked his ass out on the steps of Carriage Hill. Hell, I was in his head as soon as he went in, I stayed with him, and I felt it, the explosion; I knew something was happening, but I didn't know what until it was too late."

"You didn't know, Isiah," I said.

"And, neither did you," he tossed back, turning his head to look at me over his shoulder. "So, if you're taking the blame on this, so am I. But, if you're willing to acknowledge that you didn't know, that there was nothing you could do about it, that you just truly believed that his intentions were good, and that there is nothing wrong with that, maybe I can think the same of myself."

I looked away from him and thought for a moment.

Shit.

"Maybe you're right," I said, still not looking at him, turning to go into the kitchen. "Do you want another one?"

"I've had plenty," he said, and I heard him groan, as he got to his feet. "I've got to be up for work in the morning."

I stepped back into the entranceway for the kitchen and leaned against the frame, as he walked around the couch.

"I'm sorry, Isiah," I said. He stopped and looked at me, waiting for me to continue. I looked away from him, to my bottle, found it easier to talk to it. "I'm sorry I got you involved in this. I shouldn't have dragged you in."

"I could have told you no, Jeffery."

"I knew you wouldn't," I said, looking him back in the eye. "I should have just left you out of it."

Isiah nodded and looked away, down the hall, probably through the other end of it and into the distance.

"I'm sorry, too," he said.

"You've got nothing to be sorry for."

"When I took out his powers but left him awake," he said, looking to me with a weak grin. "I hoped like hell you'd kill him."

I didn't have anything to say to that.

He looked away from me, down the hall again, and we both stood there in silence for a few moments before he sighed heavily and started down the hall.

"Good night, Jeffery."

There was a knock on my door that broke my stare from my desk, interrupted my thinking, and brought me back to the here and now, made me realize that I had been sitting there, doing absolutely nothing for over an hour.

"Come in," I said, standing up as the door opened.

Eldritch gave me a weak smile, as she stepped into my office and closed the door behind her.

"Hi," she said, as she stood there, hands behind her back, and waited.

"Hi, yourself," I said. "Come on in."

"I'm not staying long," she said, as she walked towards me across my office. "I just wanted to stop by, though, and apologize for Sunday night."

"Don't," I said, walking around my desk and leaning against the front of it. "I was out of line with Weisz. You had every right to be upset with me."

"Not about Weisz," Eldritch said, stopping a few feet from me, hands still behind her back, eyes locked with mine. "About coming at you like I did earlier, when you were trying to get to Ferguson."

I looked away from her briefly, took a deep breath, and looked back to her.

"What you did," I said, holding up my hands a bit, "you thought was in my best interest."

"But, you're right when you say you're a big boy, Jeffery, and that you can take care of yourself. You don't need me or Anna or anyone else telling you what to do in those situations."

"I appreciate that," I said with a small nod.

"I just... I wanted you to know that I'm on your side here, Jeffery," Eldritch said. "You're not alone. You do have friends, and I'd like to be counted among them."

"I really appreciate that, Eldritch," I said. "Where is this coming from?"

"I've just been thinking," she said with a shrug. "About where I stand in this city, in this place. I don't have very many people to turn to, Jeffery. I can do alone, I can do solitary, I did it for years before Churchill, but here, in Pacific City, with you..." She paused, seemed to think about what she was saying. "With all of the New Mages," she continued. "I'm part of something."

"What is that something, though?" I asked, and she looked at me confused. "What are the New Mages, Eldritch? What have we done, as a group or individually?"

"The group's still relatively new," Eldritch said.

"But, it's the lynchpin of Erlend's plan and policies," I said. "So, what are we? What do we really do; what are we really a part of here?"

I pushed off of my desk and turned from Eldritch, walking around my desk and looking out the window.

"Erlend and Anna have their schemes, their plans that they don't want to share. Toss on top of that the Ghostface Legion they lead around, killing anyone they find. Michael's just... Who the hell knows what's up with Millennium Man? Victoria's not balanced, hasn't been for as long as I've known her. I don't trust Weisz one bit." I looked at Eldritch over my shoulder. "And not just for personal reasons. What has he done for this city or the team?"

I turned around to face Eldritch, walked towards her.

"Lin's a child. I don't like that she's part of this, she's too young, she's too vulnerable. And, she has very little concern about taking someone's life."

I stopped close to Eldritch.

"So, that leaves us, Eldritch. And, where do we stand?

"I need to be able to trust you. I need to be able to turn to you and rely on you. And, when the chips are down, I need to know that you're in my corner, Eldritch."

"What are you talking about, Jeffery?"

"I'm talking about this city and this team and where both are heading. I don't like the path we're on now, Eldritch, and I'm going to try and fix that, but I need help. I want to count you among my friends, among the people I can turn to, but I have to know that if it comes to that, if I do need to turn to you, that you will be there for me."

"Are you making a move against Erlend?"

"No," I said, shaking my head. "Not at all. But, I am making moves he won't like. That he may try to stop and that I firmly believe need to happen if this city is to survive."

"Survive what?"

The Imperial Magistrate returning.

But, I wasn't about to say that.

Not yet.

"Survive life, Eldritch. Day to day. Ferguson shows how ineffective things are currently, that we cannot take care of everything on our own, that something different needs to be done if we're going to avoid a repeat.

"Eldritch, I need to know whether or not you're in my corner. I need to know who I can trust."

"You can trust me, Jeffery," she said quickly.

"You're sure?"

"I'm on your side here."

I stared at her for a few seconds, her staring back, the look on her face dead serious but also curious.

"Okay," I said with a nod.

"What are you doing?" she asked. "What moves are you making that Erlend won't approve of?"

"I'm going for Dean Williams tonight," I said.

"You know where he is?"

"I know where he will be."

"And, what's wrong with that?"

"He doesn't approve of my means for getting this information," I said, looking away. "Nor would he approve of how I'm going to take him in."

"How's that?"

"Alive," I said, looking her back in the eye and giving her a small smirk.

"How are you getting the information?" she asked, and my smirk faded real quick.

"I can't say," I said, turning from Eldritch and going around my desk.

"So, you're asking for me to trust you, but you're going to hold out on me?"

"This is something I can't discuss, Eldritch," I said, looking to her. "Or, I lose it. And, I can't afford to lose this information, not now, not when I'm so close to getting this sonofabitch."

"Will you tell me afterwards?"

"If I can, yes," I said with a nod. "The moment I can tell you, I will."

She stared at me for a bit, seeming to decide whether or not that would suffice, but then she nodded, accepted it for what it was worth, and that was that.

"So, when are we going after him?"

"We?"

"Jeffery," said Eldritch, planting her hands on my desk and leaning toward me. "You ask if I'm in your corner, if I've got your back, if you can trust me. So, trust me when I say yes on all counts. I'll help you."

"Not on this," I said, shaking my head.

"Damn it, Jeffery," she said, pushing off of my desk. "Make up your goddamn mind."

"I want your help, Eldritch," I said. "In the long run. With the big things. Yes. But, on this, right now, I just need your trust and for you to back me up if the shit hits the fan."

"But, I can't help you keep the shit from hitting the fan?"

"You can help me best by not being involved," I said. "Not yet."

"This trust thing, Jeffery, it's got to work both ways."

"It does..."

"Then, why are you cutting me out?"

"Because I have to," I said. "For now. But just right now."

"Jeffery..."

"I could have not said a word to you about it, Eldritch. Just by saying what I have, I'm trusting you, all right? I can't do much more than that right now. Not yet. Just, please, let me take care of this."

She threw up her hands and shook her head, as she turned away.

"Fine, Jeffery," she said.

"Eldritch, please..."

"Just don't get yourself killed," she said, as she opened my office door.

And, she slammed it behind her.

That could have gone better.

***

"You're taking him down in a nursing home?"

"Outside of it ideally," I said. "And, hopefully that'll cut back on his wanting to go nova if we don't time this right."

"Go nova?" asked Isiah Rowe, as he looked up from his burger and fries.

"Blow up."

Isiah shook his head, as he picked up his burger and tore in.

"The only thing I'm worried about," I said, leaning back, tapping my plate with a fry I'd been meaning to eat for the last five minutes. "Well, the biggest thing I'm worried about is how he's going to do this. I mean, ideally the police thought of this, found his relatives, and put a watch out, or told the people working the place to keep an eye open for him."

"So, maybe they police are already casing the place and will pick him up for us," said Isiah with his mouth full, reaching for his soda to wash it down.

"After you do your thing," I said, pointing to him with my fry.

Isiah nodded, as he swallowed.

"Of course," he said.

"So, how close do you need to be to him to do this?" I asked, finally popping the fry in my mouth.

"Depends on how many people there are," Isiah said, as he lifted the top bun off his burger and started picking out the onions he had asked to be left off. "I mean, if it's just him on the street, within eyesight and a block or two should do. The more people, the closer I need to get."

"Will he know what you've done to him when you do it?"

"I'm knocking him out, Jeffery," said Isiah, looking to me. "So, yeah, he'll know."

"Right," I said, nodding, grabbing another fry and eating it.

"So, are we going to wait for him to come out?"

"That's what I figure," I said.

"How do we know he's going to come out the front door?"

"It's the only way out," I said. "Anything else is a fire exit; alarms would go off. He probably wouldn't want to draw that kind of attention."

"Yeah, but, if we see him going for the front door, why don't we just hit him up then."

"The guy's going to visit his mother, man," I said. "I can't just interrupt that."

"The guy killed a hundred and twenty people..."

"And, his mother deserves one last visit from her son, before we put him away for good."

"All right," said Isiah, shaking his head, picking his burger up again. "It's your call."

I finally grabbed my burger and took a bite, as Isiah stared at me.

"What?" I asked with a full mouth.

"You're showing an awful lot of compassion for a man you want to beat the shit out to get a message across."

"It's not for him," I said, then swallowing. "It's for his mom. It's not her fault her son's a mass murderer."

"Maybe it is."

"Just the same, Isiah, I'm not about to keep the guy from his mother when it really makes no difference if we get him before he goes in or once he comes out."

"If everything goes according to plan."

"It will, Isiah, all right?" I looked at my watch.

Two hours to go.

***

The Carriage Hill Assisted Living facility looked like any ol' apartment building in downtown Pacific City. Probably was one at some point, refurbished to become a warehouse of elderly and invalids that families either couldn't handle or didn't want to handle. A place where many were put to die.

I don't like these places.

The block was relatively empty, as Isiah and I walked past on the other side of the street, eyeing the building the whole time.

"How close do you think you need to be for this kinda crowd?" I asked.

"If it doesn't get any busier, a block and a half maybe, though a block would be more preferable."

"How about up there?" I asked, pointing up above us.

"Right across the street?"

"And twenty floors up."

"Yeah, I could pull that off. But, I'd have a hard time identifying him from up there. I could just tuck in there," Isiah said, nodding beside us to the alley we were walking past. "We both could be there, you could point him out, I knock him out, you go make sure he's down and wait for the police."

"I don't want us in the same place on this one."

"Why's that?"

"If I'm spotted ahead of time, this could go south very quick, and I don't want you to get hurt. Here." I fished a GI Joe walkie talkie out of my inside coat pocket and handed it to Isiah.

"Are you serious?" he asked, as he marveled at the camouflage paint scheme.

"It's the best I could do on short notice," I said, pulling another one out of another coat pocket. "They supposedly get a hundred feet outta them, so let's try it out."

Isiah sighed and shook his head, turned around and walked toward the alley we'd gone past, as I made my way across the street and into an alley right next to Carriage Hill.

"All right, you hear me?" I asked into my walkie talkie.

I heard beeping in response.

Morse Code.

And, I was flashing back to being ten and out in Isiah's aunt's yard, walkie talkie beeping directions, as I tried to find my fellow soldier who was pinned down behind enemy lines.

I read the corresponding chart.

T-O-O-L.

"Love you too," I said. "Am I coming in clear?"

"Yeah" was a staticy but still audible response.

"Awesome."

I crossed the street back to Isiah.

"Okay, I'm going to wait in an alley just down the block on this side of the street to watch for him. When I see him going in, I'll point him out and you let me know if you know who I'm talking about. Once we're confirmed on that, I'll cross the street and wait."

"Why not just stay where you are?"

"I want to be closer when he collapses. Don't let others get an opportunity to get to him and all of that. Having to wait for traffic would get in the way."

"Okay," said Isiah.

"But, if you don't know who I'm talking about when he goes in, I'll stay where I am, so I can tell you when he's leaving. Just to make sure of it, okay?"

"Got it."

"Sweet. Now, we wait."

And, we waited.

I felt like I was sleepwalking through the morning, just going through the motions of working, of doing my job, of functioning.

Phone calls, paperwork, messages, busy work, and every now and then I'd look to the clock.

9:30.

9:45.

9:50.

I got up with a groan and left my office, telling Nancy Meyers I was stepping out to get coffee.

As the elevator doors opened, I came face to face with Erlend Romanov.

"I never figured you to take the elevator," I said, as he stepped off.

"Is there anything we need to discuss from last night, Jeffery?" he asked, standing in my way, as the elevator doors closed.

"As a matter of fact," I said, leaning over, reaching past him and jabbing the down button. "There is." I straightened up and gave a small smirk. "You need to form some sort of business advisory board. Something to promote doing business in Pacific City, not only to lure businesses here but to keep the ones already here from leaving."

"Businesses are going to do what they want, Jeffery. Why should we placate them?"

"Because they employ the people that live in this city," I said, as the elevator doors opened again. "And, those people are the ones we're looking out for here."

I stepped past Erlend and onto the elevator, holding the door open and continuing.

"Your best bet is to dig up Cliff Jerrod's old committee, weed through those people for the good and bad, then find a few others who are worthwhile. Worst case scenario is it's useless and nothing comes of it, so whatever's happening with the businesses now keeps happening."

"And, what is that, exactly?"

I shrugged.

"Your guess is as good as mine. Form the committee and ask them."

"Is there anything else that I should know about from last night, Jeffery?"

I hesitated, knew he was fishing, but wasn't sure if he knew what he was fishing for.

"The t-bone at Brown and Schmidt's is well worth the thirty bucks," I said with a smirk, and I let the elevator doors close.

***

I ordered just a regular coffee at the coffee shop across the street from City Hall, got a cup, pumping it full of the darkest, strongest stuff they had. I was taking a sip, as I turned to leave and froze when I saw her come through the door, not a care in the world, the only thing done to change her looks being a pair of dark sunglasses that she pulled off, as she walked in, so even that didn't work.

She saw me, smiled, not a warm smile, a controlling smile, and she walked towards me. I moved to her, meeting her in the middle.

"Every cop in this city has your picture, and you're out and about without a care in the world," I whispered to Tracy Pine.

She held out her arms and hugged me.

"I've got my little guardian angel though, don't I?" she whispered in my ear, as I did my best to return the hug, keep up pretenses, knowing full well that people were watching this, seeing this, this blonde woman meet and warmly greet the public relations face of City Hall.

This blonde woman wanted in connection with the death of a hundred and twenty people.

They didn't know that part. Not yet.

She gave me a peck on the cheek, and then I pulled away.

"I've got something for you," she said.

"Shall we go back to my office?"

"Let me get something here," she said, nodding toward the counter. "Then, maybe we can go for a walk."

She was playing this up, dragging it out, and she knew full well all I could do was go along.

"So, tell me about this Cassandra Trellis," said Pine, while I stood next to her in line.

I shot her a glare that made her smile wider.

"No," I said, taking a drink of my coffee.

"Oh, come on, just some small talk," Pine said, resting her hand on my upper arm. "I've heard Simon talk about her. Now, I want to hear what you have to say."

"What did Simon say?" I asked.

"Just where she worked, where she lived." She let that dangle for a bit, a thinly veiled threat of information I already knew he had, assumed they all had, so I didn't react. "He doesn't seem to think too highly of her these days, but you can tell he did at one point. He did mention her nighttime activities."

That got a look from me but no response, as Pine stepped up and ordered. Not a word, as she got her drink, stepped over to the end of the counter, and poured more cream into it than coffee, added too much sugar, stirred, and then turned to me.

"Shall we go for a walk?"

We both stepped out onto the sidewalk, and she moved to loop her arm through mine, but I pulled away, and she just shook her head.

"It is very reassuring to hear that you aren't above dating a former opponent," Pine said, pausing to take a drink. "That you can be so forgiving."

"What do you have for me?" I asked.

"Simon's very upset with what you did to Roger. But, you're still off limits."

"What do you mean 'off limits'?"

"None of us are allowed to deal with you directly unless you confront us. And, even then, lethal force is not allowed."

"Why?"

"Simon isn't saying, but I think he wants to toy with you. He says it's not about you anymore, but it's quite obvious you're still a sore spot for him."

"Is there a point to this?" I asked.

"My, you're grumpy this morning," Pine said.

"I've got work to do, Tracy, so if you're just here to chitchat..."

"Dean's going out tonight," interrupted Pine.

"Where?"

She pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket and handed it to me.

"How do you know this?" I asked, as I unfolded it with my free hand and started to read.

"Simon won't let anyone out without knowing where they are going and how long they're going to be."

"Does the same apply to you?" I asked, glancing to her. She shook her head.

"Simon doesn't ask, and I don't tell him. He lets me do what I want."

"Does he like you?"

"He trusts me," she said, taking a sip of her coffee.

I looked back to the paper.

"Assisted living?"

"He's visiting his mother," Pine said.

Shit.

"Okay," I said, folding the paper and putting it in my pocket.

"So, after you get Dean..."

"We'll discuss it then," I said, not looking at her but knowing she was looking at me, knowing she was smiling.

"Then, I'll let you go," she said, stepping in front of me to make me stop.

She leaned in and kissed my cheek, pulled away slightly, hovered, hesitated, waited.

"Thank you, Tracy," I said, and she leaned a little more, her lips by my ear.

"Thank you," she said, and she pulled away smiling, turned, and walked away.

***

I leaned back in my seat as the phone rang, waiting, waiting, waiting.

"Hello?"

"Isiah," I said, leaning forward real quick. "What are you doing tonight?"

"You need me?"

"Yeah," I said.

"What time?"

"Let's meet around six; we'll get some dinner and go from there."

***

I left my office again at quarter to noon, told Nancy I'd be back around one, and she reminded me of the one-thirty press briefing but said nothing more.

By noon, I was on the rooftops, mask snug over my head, as I vaulted alleys and streets and rushed toward where I needed to be five minutes before.

I saw Officer Michael Self standing alone on the rooftop of where I said I'd meet him. I leapt across and landed, pulling his attention from a small pile of broken plastic and wires he had been toeing with his shoe.

"You're late," he said.

"I have stuff to do."

"Any idea what that was?" he asked, nodding to the mess on the roof.

"It was a Bush Signal." He shook his head out of the sheer absurdity of it and shrugged.

"I will never get you people," he said, holding an envelope out to me.

I took it and merely trusted the contents, slipping it in the inside pocket of my suit coat.

"I'll let you know how quickly we can get this stuff," I said. "And the other details, as I know them."

"Sure," he said with a nod.

"Also," I said. "When you had Dean Williams in custody, how did you all keep him from blowing up?"

"He was kept heavily sedated," said Self. "And, there was some other cocktail they gave him, something some guy in Alhazred had mixed up a while back."

"Do you guys still have any of it?"

"Some," said Self. "But, a request for more is on the list."

"Who makes it?"

"Government contracted it out to a lab in Japan," Self said. "You should be able to get it there."

Government contracted it out. Some guy in Alhazred.

I wondered if there was a cocktail with my name on it out there or if that secret died in the ruins of Alhazred Asylum.

"But, do you have enough to where, if Dean Williams was taken into custody today, you'd be able to keep him down for two to four weeks?"

"Two weeks maybe. Four would be a hell of a stretch."

I nodded.

"Okay," I said. "Have that stuff ready for tonight then."

"Tonight?" I nodded again. "Do you know something I don't?"

"I'm hoping to take him into custody tonight."

"Do you know where he is?"

"I may know where he's going to be."

"Where?"

"I can't say."

"Bullshit," said Self. "You want the police to step up; tell me."

"You can't handle him until I take care of him. Otherwise, he's liable to blow a lot of you boys in blue up."

"Damn it, Bush..."

"Officer Self," I said. "I can't guarantee my information is accurate. It could be a trap for all I know. And, the last thing I want is for the already hurting police department to run into even more problems. I'll check into it. If it pans out, I need you all to be ready to take him into custody."

"Do me a favor then," said Self. "And, leave him a little more useful than you left Roger Thompson."

"I'll do my best," I said, smirking under my mask.

***

I held the envelope out as soon as Alfonse answered the door.

"Should be everything," I said. "Let me know cost and timelines as soon as you know them."

"Of course," said Alfonse, taking the envelope from me. "I should have that for you by early this evening."

"I might not be available," I said.

"Due to business or pleasure?"

"Can I take pleasure in my business?"

"Do you?"

"I have to go," I said. "I've got a press conference to give."

There was no doubt in my mind that he knew I was avoiding the question.

I sighed, my breath moist and humid, as it came off the inside of my mask and back onto my face, while I looked up to the balcony five stories up.

"I can make that jump," I said, as I nodded to myself, took a couple steps back and a deep breath.

I broke into a sprint, tried to time it just right, and jumped, going up, up, up, reaching the top of my arc a few feet above the balcony but more than a few feet shy.

I reached out quick and grabbed onto the railing, praying that they weren't cheap and liable to break easily. I hit the side of the railing and balcony hard but kept my grip.

The railing held.

I'd made it. More or less.

I pulled myself up and over and landed on the floor of the balcony, cursed at myself for messing that up, and looked up into the barrel of a standard issue of one of Pacific City's finest.

"Tell me why I shouldn't shoot you."

"Because it wouldn't hurt me one bit," I said.

Officer Michael Self seemed to chew on that for a moment, eyes narrow, as he glared at me, stood over me, took a lifetime making up his mind.

He shook his head and pulled his gun away.

"What do you want?" he asked, then taking a swig off of a beer in his other hand and plopping himself down on the only chair on his balcony.

"I'm here with an offer," I said, standing up and brushing myself off.

"An offer or a threat?"

"An offer." I cleared my throat and looked at him. "I want to help."

He scoffed at me.

"Help with what?"

"With making sure you have what you need."

"What I need?"

"You, the police. What you all would need to handle science villains."

"Isn't that your job, you and the rest of you 'heroes'?" he said, his distaste showing in how he spat out that last word.

"Our job," I said, as I crouched down to be eye level with him, "should be to compliment what you do. Should be to assist the police in the investigation of crimes, apprehension of criminals and the like. We are not the police."

Self gave me a bitter laugh and shook his head.

"What the hell do you want, Bush?"

"I want to help."

"With this bullshit that you're not the police?" he asked. "No shit, you're not the police, but you sure as hell act like it. Judge, jury, and executioner in a lot of cases."

"Some, yes," I granted. "But not all, not most, and certainly not something we should be doing.

"Self, you know better than I do that the city wants a police department that can protect it. You also know better than I that you are horribly underfunded, low on equipment, and even worse with morale."

"You want to help all of those things?" said Self, leaning forward in his seat. "Then fucking stop. Quit what you're doing and leave this to the professionals."

"That's not going to happen," I said with a shake of my head.

"Then, we've got nothing to talk about," Self said, leaning back again, taking another swig of his beer.

"You need equipment, Self," I said. "And, I'm offering to get it for you."

"All the equipment in the world doesn't mean shit if we don't have the authority to do our jobs."

"With the equipment will come the authority." He rolled his eyes. "Self, what kind of authority would you have if you had to take Simon Cooper into custody today? Considering how horribly equipped you are to handle a shocker, your authority would last about as long as it took for him to fry you."

Self glared at me but didn't respond.

"Look, you guys need equipment. Let me know what you need, and I'll do my best to get it."

"Why isn't this going through the proper channels?" said Self. "Why isn't the Mayor involved or the suits?"

"The Mayor and the suits aren't involved because we both know that neither of them would be able to get this done."

"And, you can?"

"I can try my damnedest."

Self was quiet for a few moments, as we stared at each other.

"Who are you?" he finally asked.

"What does that matter?"

"You're making a big move here against the Mayor, and you're using me and the entire department to do it. How do I know this isn't a set up? How do I know you're not just using me to take control for yourself?"

"How does knowing who I am change any of that? I'm obviously associated with the Mayor on some level. I'm in the New Mages. So, you have every right to be suspicious of a set up. But, I think my record and actions show I'm not in this for me. And, I'm not looking to replace the Mayor. "

"Then, why are you doing this?"

"Because the people need you to keep them safe. Because science heroes aren't enough. Because the Mayor is wrong in this case and someone has to do something about it."

Self looked away from me and stared at his beer bottle, thinking.

"Why are you coming to me?" he asked, not looking away from his stare.

"You're in a position to make sure this gets done right on your end."

Silence again, and I just waited, all the time in the world.

"The Mayor'll find out," he said finally. "It won't work."

"He won't know until they're here, and, once they are, he can't take them away."

"You're so sure of this," he said, followed by a swig and a pause. "What the hell do you know about gunrunning?"

"I know who to talk to who knows enough about it to get it done."

He looked to me for a moment and then away, over my shoulder, to the city beyond his balcony.

"Self, what have you got to lose?"

"How do you plan on paying for this?"

"I've got that covered. You get me a list of what you need, and I'll do my best to get it."

"Even if we're talking heavy duty equipment? Even if we're talking about stuff that could take one of you down?"

"Do you intend on using it on one of us?"

"If I have to."

"Then, you should have it incase the need arises."

Another pause, more mulling.

He locked eyes with me.

"You're serious?"

I nodded.

He looked back to his bottle, glared at it, looked for the answer in it.

And, I waited for his response.

***

Alfonse was at the foot of the steps in Burke Manor, as I let myself in. No matter how late, I don't think I ever walked into that place without finding him up.

"We're set," I said. "He'll have a list at the drop off at noon tomorrow."

"Very well," Alfonse said with a small, stiff nod.

"You let me know what they can get, what it'll cost, and I'll get you the funds. The sooner we can get this stuff, the better."

"I am aware of that, Jeffery," said Alfonse. "But, perhaps this conversation would be better had elsewhere."

"Yeah," I said with a nod, looking away from Alfonse and to the floor of Burke Manor, to the spot where not too long ago I came to find Layla Burke dead.

My gut tensed, clenched, pain cutting through my body.

"Jeffery," said Alfonse, a hand on my shoulder getting my attention. I looked to him. "There should be a change of clothes downstairs for you already. I shall join you shortly."

"Yeah," I said again, another nod, and I walked away without looking back to that spot.

***

"I don't think I'm in the mood for sparring tonight," I said from where I sat at the bottom of the steps to the cave underneath Burke Manor, as Alfonse came down.

"Did you just miss my company then, Jeffery?" asked Alfonse, and I couldn't help but smirk a bit.

"Well, no," I said, looking at my hands, studying them. "I mean, I came expecting to, but now..."

"Jeffery," said Alfonse. "There is little you could have done for Victoria's mother."

"It seems that there's little I can do for anyone these days, Alfonse," I said.

"You are in the process of helping supply the Pacific City Police Department with the means of protecting this city. That is helping many people a great deal."

"Give me the praise when we actually pull it off," I said.

"Ferguson Place was not your fault, Jeffery."

"Bullshit."

I pushed myself to my feet and walked a few yards, stopped, turned, walked back, began pacing.

"What would you have done to change the outcome, Jeffery?"

"I could have taken care of Simon a long time ago."

"Could have, yes. But, WOULD you have, Jeffery?"

I stopped and stared at the floor, through it, thinking that over.

"You could have done a great many things, Jeffery, but all of those things are not who you are or what you do. You do not kill. You do not cripple. You have set your own limits."

"And, look at what they've gotten me," I said, looking up to Alfonse. "Look at what they've gotten the city."

"Millennium Man could save a million lives, but all people will remember is what he did to James Finnegan."

"Who cares what people think?" I said with a wave of my hand, turning away, starting to pace again. "You save lives, you save lives. They don't have to be thankful; they don't have to appreciate it. Hell, they don't even have to know."

"But, you have to live with yourself afterwards. You have to live with the decisions you make, Jeffery."

"And, I have to live with the decisions I don't make, Alfonse," I said, stopping, my back to Alfonse, looking deeper into the caves, taking a deep breath, then turning back to Alfonse. "If I had killed Simon. If I had broken his legs. If I had put Dean Williams into a coma."

"In your profession," said Alfonse, "hindsight does you little good."

"Hindsight shows me where I fucked up, Alf, and where I need to make changes."

"You will not make those changes, Jeffery."

"I have to change something."

"But, you will not kill. And, you know that."

"I may have to."

"There is always another option, Jeffery."

"I will have an opportunity in the next three days to confront Dean Williams," I said. "In the next three days, I'm going to be told where to find him. And, I'm going to go there..." I paused, looked down, started second guessing myself from earlier. "And, I'm going to put Isiah at risk, so I can handle this."

"What does Mister Rowe have to do with this?"

"I need him to knock Dean out," I said, "before he knows what's up and can blow up."

"That is a non-lethal solution, Jeffery."

"But, it'll wear off, Alfonse," I said. "It's never permanent, what Isiah does. It'll wear off, and he'll do this again."

"The police have the means..."

"The police don't have shit right now, Alfonse! And, they won't for two to four weeks. This is three days, tops. Now two and a half. How do you deal with someone like Dean Williams, Alfonse? Short of Self's proposal."

"Which was?"

"From a distance," I said. "And, you only get one shot. That's a quote."

Alfonse didn't say anything and let me stand and think, try and process, try and figure out what was running through my head.

"I think I'm scared, Alfonse," I said. "I think I may have to do something that..." I stopped, swallowed hard. "I almost killed that one guy, Alfonse. The strong one I put into a coma. I almost killed him. And, I didn't realize it." I looked up to Alfonse. "I didn't care."

"In the heat of the moment, perhaps," said Alfonse. "But, right now, you seem to regret what you did."

"But, I'm going to make a decision in the heat of the moment, Alfonse. I'm not going to be able to take a step back and think about what I'm doing, I'm just going to go, and I'm just going to do it, and I'm not going to stop until he's dead. Because that's what needs to happen, Alfonse. He needs to be dead. He needs to be stopped."

"There are always other options available to you, Jeffery."

"Like what, Alfonse?"

"Who else have you turned to with this information?"

"About Dean? Nobody."

"Perhaps you should."

"I can't. If I do, it won't happen."

"Where are you getting this information, Jeffery, if I may ask?"

"You may ask, Alfonse," I said, giving him a weak smirk. "But, I can't answer."

"It seems to me that you may not be too comfortable with this knowledge. Or, is it the means by which you are getting it?"

I closed my eyes and lowered my head.

"I just... I have to handle this, Alfonse," I said, opening my eyes and looking back to him. "These are my problems; these are all my unfinished business. I need to take care of them."

"You need to take care of yourself, Jeffery."

"I'll be fine."

"When is the last time you slept?"

"Sunday."

"Night?"

"Morning."

"If my sources are correct, you were more unconscious than asleep then, Jeffery."

"What difference does it make?"

"And, before that, Jeffery, when did you last sleep?"

"What the hell does that change, Alfonse?"

"Perhaps your lack of sleep is impacting your thoughts and decisions?"

"I'm thinking clearly, Alfonse."

"Are you?"

"Yes, damn it!"

"Then, why are we having this discussion?"

"Because..." I stopped, let myself hang there, waiting for my thoughts to come, but they didn't. "Damn it, Alfonse."

"You are welcome to your old room if you'd like, Jeffery," said Alfonse, turning and starting back up the stairs.

I didn't say anything, lost in thought, as he left me alone in the cave.

They made a big show of quickly seating us, despite our not having reservations, oh how gracious of them, but one look at the dining room told me that getting a walk-in table was no problem at all on a Monday night.

I recognized a few of the diners, people I had met or seen Saturday night, and they seemed to recognize me. Them and many other people, many glancing up, seeing me, looking away, a few staring, as Cassandra and I were led to our table.

"Mister Carter!" A man was out of his seat, as we walked by, grabbing my hand, stopping me. "I am so glad to see you are doing well," he said with a huge grin. "After that horrible incident Saturday night, we weren't sure how you'd be."

He glanced to the lady seated with him, and her I remembered: Katherine Longerbeam; her husband was Theodore and was on the board for First Pacific City Bank And Trust.

"It wasn't as bad as it looked, Mister Longerbeam," I said, giving him a smile, looking to his wife. "Missus Longerbeam, it is good to see you again."

"You as well, Mister Carter," she said, holding out her hand for me to take, which I did, the back of it kissed. God, I hated the formalities.

"Allow me to introduce a couple of gentlemen who are on the board with me," Theodore Longerbeam said, hand on my back, turning me toward the table.

I glanced to Cassandra who just followed the host, shaking her head, leaving me all alone among these people.

Crap.

"This is Clyde Roberts," he said, gesturing to a man with a really bad hair piece who rose and shook my hand. "And Robert Saunders," gesturing to the other gentleman who stood and shook my hand as well.

"A pleasure to meet you, Mister Carter," he said, his voice almost as strong as his grip.

"How opportune for you to be here," said Theodore. "We were just discussing the aspects of doing business here in Pacific City."

I tried to say something, tried to break off, but Clyde Roberts was quick to speak.

"Ever since Saturday night's event, well, there's been a lot of discussion about doing business here," he said. "Many people are afraid of what these people could do to business."

"Understandably," I said.

"So, we were just discussing what could be done to help promote people staying," said Theodore. "And what City Hall was looking at doing. Clyde was mentioning that he had heard talk of tax incentives."

"Which would be very smart," said Clyde. "If the cost of doing business here was low enough..."

"I'm afraid I'm not in the loop on such talk, gentlemen," I said. "And, to be quite honest, I don't know if there is a loop."

"It's certainly something that could be considered, though," said Theodore. "Were the administration truly concerned about what the businesses are doing."

"The Mayor is concerned," I said. "But, at the moment, his number one priority is reacting to the Ferguson tragedy first."

"You can't afford to ignore the business problem," said Clyde.

"We also can not afford to cut city revenues on the concern that businesses might leave the city," I said. "A move that would certainly cost them more than it is worth, if you ask me."

"Mister Carter," said Clyde. "We understand that this is not your area of expertise, so..."

"You're right, Mister Roberts," I said. "So, certainly anything I say should be taken with a grain of salt, but, with the Australian government failing to step up and assist us in taking care of those effected by this weekend's tragedy, it is becoming quite apparent that this city may have to be financially self sufficient. To voluntarily cut into our budget because businesses want to blackmail the city into keeping them here--" Clyde balked, but I continued. "--would hurt our ability to help the people. Especially if, in order to make up that loss of funds, the responsibility was put onto their backs.

"But, like you said, economics is not my area of expertise. My job, and the job of the Mayor and all of City Hall, is to meet the needs of the people first and the businesses second. We will deal with the problems businesses have in due time, but, please, allow some time for the people harmed by the Ferguson attack to get the attention they need."

"Of course, Mister Carter," said Robert Saunders with a grin. "But, we would appreciate it if the Mayor would take some time to address the needs of the business community, so we can also help the people."

"I'm sure the Mayor would be more than happy to do what he can to help make doing business here in Pacific City worthwhile. How he would do that is in his hands, though."

"Perhaps if we could meet with the Mayor to discuss what options are available to him..."

"That is probably a good idea, Mister Saunders. Unfortunately, I do not handle the Mayor's appointments, but, if you called his office, I'm sure one could be set up. And, if you have any problems there," I said, reaching into my inside coat pocket and pulling out a business card, handing it to him. "Speak with my secretary, Miss Meyers, and she will do what she can to help you.

"Well, I'll let you gentlemen and lady get back to your meals," I said, patting Theodore on the shoulder, giving them all a big grin. "Gentlemen, it was a pleasure meeting you," I nodded towards Clyde and Robert. "Missus Longerbeam, always a pleasure." She smiled and returned my nod, seeming almost oblivious to the whole conversation that just happened. "Good to see you again, Mister Longerbeam."

None of them said anything to me, as I walked away and left them to sulk or whatever they chose to do once I was gone.

The host or maitre'd or whatever fancy name you want to give him was waiting by the table when I arrived, gesturing to my seat and handing me a menu as I sat. He spouted off something about a special, a soup of the day, said our waitress would be with us shortly, and then he took off.

"So, are you regretting coming here?" Cassandra asked, as she looked at the menu, a smirk on her face.

"I'm working on it," I said with a smirk of my own. "What the hell is a bank board doing trying to dictate how City Hall deals with businesses?"

"A few members of that bank board are current or former board members of some of the largest businesses in Pacific City," said Cassandra, still looking at her menu, still smirking.

"So, they end up giving themselves loans and breaks and the like?" Cassandra nodded. "Huh. I need to pay a bit more attention to these things."

"You do," she said, closing her menu and setting it down. "You also have to understand that, under Cliff Jerrod's administration, there was a business advisory council that he created to more or less dictate how Pacific City treated businesses. Something Mayor Romanov decided not to deal with when he came in."

"Ignored it out of existence, probably," I said, looking at my menu. "So, if Romanov's been ignoring the businesses' needs for the last four months, how bad has the Pacific City economy been hurt?"

"That'd be good to know, wouldn't it?"

I looked up to her, her smirking, and waiting for her to tell me.

"I don't know the answer to that, Jeffery," she said, as someone stopped by our table and filled our water glasses. I thanked him, and he nodded and left.

"Why this city is still able to function is beyond me," I said, grabbing my water and taking a sip.

"And, you're not going to be able to fix everything on your own, Jeffery," said Cassandra, her fingers dancing on the rim of her water glass. "A city council or advisors, something to help fill the void with people who know what they're doing."

"Right," I said, nodding. "You're right. Now, how to convince Erlend of that..."

The waitress stopped at our table and smiled, bottle of wine in hand, starting to fill our glasses without asking.

"Compliments of Mister Vance," she said, looking in the direction of a table near one of the far walls.

Another person I'd met Saturday night, another rich and powerful man with a vested interest in buttering up City Hall, raising his glass a bit in a toast or salute, as I looked over. I returned the gesture, forced a smile.

"Are you all ready to order, or would you like a few more minutes?" she asked.

"Just a few more minutes, please," I said, grabbing my menu again, looking to Cassandra, as the waitress left. "Is it proper etiquette to just sit here, or should I go and thank him personally?"

"He probably wants you to go say hello," Cassandra said.

"We're not going to get to eat tonight, are we?"

"Are you regretting this yet?" she asked, leaning forward, elbows on the table, resting her chin on the back of her intertwined fingers.

"You're getting a kick out of this, aren't you?" She smiled, picked up her wine, and took a sip. "Next time I mention romantic dinner," I said, picking up my wine as well, holding it up for a toast, "remind me to eat in."

We clinked glasses, gave each other smiles, and drank.

***

"So, what is it that you have to do tonight?" asked Cassandra, as she looked at herself in her full length mirror, trying to tie my tie onto herself while wearing only the dress shirt she had taken off of me an hour before.

"I can't really say," I told her, as I pulled my pants on and started buckling my belt.

"Oh?" She looked at me in the mirror, one eyebrow raised. "Top secret?"

"Something like that," I said, as I bent over to pick my undershirt up off the floor of her bedroom.

"Are you seeing another villainess behind my back, Jeffery Carter?"

I paused for a brief moment, bent over, shirt in hand, and felt my stomach lurch. Then, I moved, stood upright with a deep breath, and smiled.

"You're the only bad girl in my life."

"Right," she said in a tone that told me she playfully didn't believe it one bit. She turned and walked to me, pulled the still undone tie from around her neck, and brought it around mine. "I've heard stories of how smooth this Bush43 can be with the ladies."

"I've heard stories too," I said. "And, if they were half true, I'd be a hell of a lot more relaxed."

"James Bond had his Bond Girls; you have your Bush Girls."

"Bond was a lucky bastard."

"Are you saying you're unlucky, Mister Carter?" Cass asked, as she tugged on the sides of the tie, pulling my face closer to hers, giving me that mischievous grin.

"I'm just saying I'm no James Bond."

"Yet, you have secret, late-night, clandestine meetings."

"It's not that late," I said. "And, I don't think clandestine meetings happen at the Pacific Diner over coffee."

"Is that what you're doing?"

"Maybe."

"Are you being purposefully obtuse?"

"I'm being naturally obtuse."

"Well, don't," Cass said, brining her face closer to mine, almost touching, her lips hovering just off of mine. "It's not very becoming," she whispered, her breath cutting across my lips.

I tried to kiss her, but she pulled away.

She smiled at the shocked look I gave her and stepped away from me, unbuttoning the shirt she wore.

"You'll get that next time I see you," she said, as she took my shirt off and held it to the side.

"Tease," I said, and she threw my shirt at me.

I laughed, as I let my dress shirt fall to the floor and pulled my undershirt on, Cass walking past me and toward the bathroom.

"If everything works out like it should," I said, as I grabbed my dress shirt and started putting it on. "I'll explain everything."

"And, if it doesn't work out like it should?"

I turned to see her standing in the doorway to the bathroom, still naked, but the look on her face a mix of concern and curiosity.

"You'll probably hear about it then, too," I said. "Just not from me."

"Long time no see," said Isiah Rowe, as he walked across the lobby of the office building where he worked.

"So, I've been a little busy," I said with a shrug, as we shook hands.

"Yeah, I saw the news."

We walked out of the building and started down the sidewalk.

"Yeah, so I haven't really been able to come by all that much," I said. "I should probably start looking into my own place anyway."

"No rush, man," Isiah said.

"Well, with the job and all, I should probably do it sooner rather than later."

"Like I said, no rush" Isiah said with a smile, as he opened the door to the first bar we came across.

I stepped into the bar, Isiah following.

"I'll get the drinks," I said. "Find a good, secluded booth or something."

"The usual, then."

"You want anything to eat?"

He shook his head, as we split up, him heading for the same empty corner booth I'd been eyeing since we stepped in, me heading towards the bar. I ordered a couple beers on tap and started a tab, not that I intended to run it up.

"All right," I said, as I reached the booth and set Isiah's beer in front of him, getting a nod of thanks, as I sat. "Let's get right to it."

"Straight to the point, eh?"

"I've got a date at six, so..."

"Get to it, then," Isiah said, taking a swig of his drink.

I looked around real quick and leaned forward, lowered my voice.

"I may need your help on something," I said.

"What kind of something?"

"A kind of something I would never get you involved in otherwise but where I may be in need of someone with your talents."

"Oh."

Isiah Rowe's talent was to read the impulses in someone's head. And to be able to manipulate them.

"Sometime in the next three days, I'm supposed to receive a phone call, telling me where I can find someone, and, to be honest, I have no idea how to deal with him without you."

"Who is it?"

"The guy that blew up Ferguson Place."

"Oh."

Isiah took another gulp of his beer, and I did the same, letting that sit and sink in for a moment.

"So, why exactly do you need me?" asked Isiah.

"There aren't very many ways to take down someone like this guy, someone that can blow up and all that."

"So, you want me to turn him off?"

"Just his powers."

"Why not knock him out?"

"Because I want him awake."

"Jeffery," said Isiah, as he shook his head, leaning onto the table as he now looked around. "This isn't an exact science here. I mean, I don't know if I can just go in and shut off part of what's going on in his head."

"But, you can knock people out without wiping out their brain."

"I find whatever impulse is saying 'stay awake' and turn that off. Or something like that. I don't know," he said, leaning back. "I can't really explain it, but it just doesn't work like you want it to."

"But, if he were about to blow up, could you stop him from doing it?"

"At that moment, yes."

"And, could you shut down that area or those receptors or whatever, so they don't work or register anymore, so he can't use them to use his powers?"

"Jeffery, I don't know if the mind really works..."

"Could you do that?"

"Yeah, I could do it, but it might not do much."

"Then, let's test it."

"How?"

"Turn off my left hand," I said, holding my hand up, wiggling my fingers.

"Jeffery, I don't think..."

"It'll wear off after a while, right? You're not killing my hand, just telling it to go limp or whatever. If my mind thinks my arm is limp, it should go limp, right?"

"But, I'm not making your hand think its limp, Jeffery. I'm tweaking its ability to tell your hand to move."

"And, that should stop my hand from moving, right?"

"Unless your mind uses other receptors instead, fixes itself and all."

"I don't think the mind works that way."

"Jeffery..."

"Turn off my left hand, Isiah. If it stays dead..."

"We're not talking about turning off a hand, damn it," said Isiah angrily but in a whisper. "We're talking about trying to make a man not blow up a building. If I fuck that up, Jeffery, if I do it wrong and he still goes off..."

He stopped, left that hanging for a bit, as we stared at each other.

"Why do you want him awake anyway?"

"I want him to know he's busted. I want him to know the cops have him. I want him to know what it's like to not have his powers."

"Why?"

"I want to break him, Isiah."

Isiah shook his head and took another drink of his beer.

"He killed a hundred and twenty people, Isiah. Killed them. To make a point to me."

"Not you," said Isiah, as he set his beer down.

"Yes, to me. I was there, damn it, in Ferguson. That's why he was there; that's why he blew up."

"What?"

"Simon Cooper's apartment was in Ferguson," I said, getting a confused look from Isiah. "Staticy. His apartment was there. After the attack on the Hilton, that's where I went looking for him."

"Staticy did the Hilton attack?"

"Him and others, yes."

"Damn."

"So, I went to his place, only he wasn't there, and this other guy was, Dean Williams. He was there because they knew I'd go there, because they wanted to do this in front of me, to me. Me, Isiah. I'm why this happened."

"So, you want revenge."

"I want him broken."

"Is that what happened with that Roger Thompson guy?"

I leaned back and glared at Isiah. For a second, I thought that was a low blow, but then I thought about it and realized he was just stating the truth.

"I'm not going to do it," said Isiah, shaking his head and holding his hands up. "Not like you want. If you want me to knock him out, I'll do it. But, I'm not going to risk him going off and killing any number of people, including myself, just so you can get a little revenge.

"Capturing him should be revenge enough, Jeffery. Getting him off the streets and making people safe should be revenge enough."

"Damn it, Isiah," I said, crossing my arms and looking away from him, at my beer, through it.

Damn it.

"I can't do this without you, man," I said.

"Then, do it my way. Do it the right way."

I thought about it a few minutes and realized he was right. Or, at the very least, held all the cards.

"Okay," I said with a sigh. "Okay, we'll do it your way. But, you need to be available at the drop of a hat."

"You call, and I come running?"

"Whether you're at work, three in the morning, I call--I need you right away. I don't know what kind of window I'm going to get, so we'd have to work fast."

"Are the police aware of this?"

"Not yet. And, they certainly won't be aware of your involvement."

"Yours?"

"Not like this," I said with a smirk.

"Okay," said Isiah with a nod. "You call. I'm there."

"Good," I said, lifting my glass in a small toast which he returned, both of us knocking our drinks back.

"So, who's feeding you this information?" asked Isiah. "Or, am I not allowed to know?"

"It's probably best you don't know," I said.

"Will the police know?"

I didn't answer Isiah, knocking my drink back again, as I stared through the table.

"Jeffery," Isiah said, getting my attention. "Are you being safe with this?"

"Yes," I said, nodding.

"You're not putting your ass on the line here, are you?"

"I'm always putting my ass on the line," I said.

"But with this..."

"I've got it under control, Isiah," I said.

"Okay," he said with a nod. "Just be careful."

"I'm trying to be as careful as possible. I hate turning to you on this, I don't want to put you at risk, so I'm going to be as careful as I can."

"And you? Are you watching out for yourself?"

"As well as I normally do," I said with a smirk.

That didn't seem to satisfy Isiah very well, but I didn't expect it to.

"So, are things going well with this Cassandra girl?" he asked, as he grabbed his beer.

"So far so good," I said. "Though it's only been--what--four, five days?"

"And, you haven't been at the apartment for more than an hour in those four, five days."

"Well, yeah, but I've only been at her place two nights."

"The others?"

"Either I'm not sleeping or, in the case of Saturday night, Eldritch's."

Isiah's eyebrows raised, as he drank.

"Against my will," I said.

"Oh, really?" His tone suggested something illicit.

"Not like that. It was... They kinda forced me to sleep."

"Forced you?"

"Yeah, forced me, and I still don't appreciate it." I finished off my beer.

"I doubt it was for any bad reason," said Isiah, finishing off his drink, while I glared at him. "What? Jeffery, if it was Eldritch, I'm sure she was just trying to look out for you."

"How would you know?"

"You've spoken of her before, Jeffery. I kinda get the impression that she's on your side here."

"She wasn't Sunday morning."

"Jeffery..."

"I could have saved people, Isiah," I said harshly. "I could have been there and pulled people out. But, they wouldn't let me, goddamn it."

We sat in silence for a few moments before Isiah shook his head a little bit.

"You want another one?" he asked, gesturing to my glass.

"Yeah," I said. "I want a lot more than one."

***

I arrived at Cassandra's twenty minutes late and with three beers on the stomach, which was fine; I could handle more, but I probably smelled of it, and that wasn't very attractive. I hoped the flowers in my left hand would make up for it.

I rang her doorbell, and she answered the door shortly thereafter, her hair pulled back, wearing a very attractive black dress that did everything it could to flatter her.

"Why, look who it is," she said.

"I'm sorry I'm late," I said. "I'd have been sooner if I hadn't stopped for these."

I held the flowers out to her, and she smirked.

"Smooth," she said, as she took them.

"That's me," I said, and I leaned in and gave her a kiss.

"Jeffery Carter," she said, leaning back and giving me a stern look. "Have you been drinking?"

"I met up with Isiah after work."

"You're a busy man," Cass said, turning to walk into her apartment and leaving me to follow. She held the flowers to her face and breathed in deep. "They're lovely, Jeffery," she said.

"I figure roses were too easy," I said.

"Lilies are perfect," she said, as she went into the kitchen. I just kept following. "So, where have you made reservations?" she asked, as she crouched down and opened the cabinet under her sink.

"Uh..." Oops.

She looked to me wide eyed.

"You forgot to make reservations?" The half-smile told me she wasn't upset with me. Thankfully.

"I guess I did," I said, as she stood up with a vase and kicked the cabinet door closed. "I guess we'll just have to see how much weight my name carries."

"Mister Carter," she said, as she started to fill the vase with water. "Are you abusing your power?"

"Taking advantage of the perks," I said, as I stepped behind her and wrapped my arms around her waist.

I hugged her close, leaned my head down and kissed her neck. She moved her head to the side and hummed.

"How long do I have you tonight, Mister Carter?" she asked.

"I should probably leave before eleven, Miss Trellis."

"Mmmm. We could do a lot of damage in five hours."

"Four and a half," I corrected.

"So, do you have any place in mind to take advantage of these perks of yours?" she said, as she turned off the water, and I let her go to finish with the flowers.

"Have you ever been to Brown and Schmidt's?"

"Over by the old post office?" she asked. "No, though I've heard it's very good."

"Me too. So, I was thinking we'd try that out."

"A lot of big people go there, Jeffery," she said, as she fiddled with the lilies, made the whole arrangement look pretty. She turned to me and leaned on the counter. "You sure you want to be so public?"

"Why not?" I said with a shrug. "They saw us together Saturday."

"Well, with everything that happened..."

"I can't go into hiding, Cass. And, I can't mope about. If I go out and about this city, act like everything's okay, that everything's safe, maybe the people will pick up on that. Right?"

"Just making sure."

"Besides, I want to look every one of those bastards in the eyes and thank them for all their help Saturday night," I said.

"Now do you see why I don't like them?" Cass asked, as she stepped to me, put her hands on my stomach, slid them around to my sides, my back, up my back, pulling herself close, oh my.

"I can't blame them too much," I said. "It was probably best they didn't try anything. Someone could have gotten seriously hurt."

"Someone other than you?"

"Yeah."

"Always the hero," she said, and we kissed.

"So," I said when we broke apart. "You hungry?"

"I'm starving," she said.

"For food?"

"That too." Her smirk couldn't have been more mischievous.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen," I said after stepping to the podium. A few people responded with greetings; others just went about their business, finding seats, setting up, and the like.

"Well, let's get started then," I said, bracing my hands on the sides of the podium, clearing my throat, and then letting go, straightening up, looking the part.

"I'd like to start by asking that everyone please continue to keep the family and loved ones of those affected by the Ferguson attack in their prayers. We are working very hard to ensure that everyone has what they need and that those who have suffered can properly recover."

"In what ways?" came a quick question, a gentleman from some out of town paper, his accent American.

"Financial assistance, housing assistance, helping provide for long term needs as necessary. Naturally, not everyone is going to have the same needs, so there is no one set list of specifically what will be done across the board, but we are working hard to try and create a system that is efficient and effective in helping these people recover."

"Mister Carter," and Tina Wilson's hand went up. "Will the Mayor be asking for assistance from the federal government again?"

"I believe that, at this moment, no, there are no plans to try any further to seek assistance from the Australian government. Their silence to our two overtures yesterday spoke volumes. But, the city is more than capable of taking care of its own and making sure these people have what they need."

"Are the police now treating the attacks on Ferguson and the Hilton as related?" A woman from one of the twenty-four hour news places, Lisa something-or-another.

"I believe that is a question best answered by the police."

"Do you believe that the Hilton was attacked specifically to get to you, or was your presence merely a coincidence?" I couldn't tell who asked that, a light behind their head making them hard to see.

"I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to speculate as to the exact reasons for the attack."

"You've got to have some thoughts on it, though."

"I do, but it is not proper of me to voice them nor for them to be treated as news. The police are in the midst of an investigation that will explain the reasons for the attack in due time."

"Mister Carter--" someone from one of the weeklies "--do you have anything to say to those who are speculating that you are a science hero or one of the New Mages?"

"Wow, that's new to me," I said with a small chuckle. "All I can say is, well, you got me. I'm surprised it took everyone so long. It's quite obvious I'm Mysteria." A few laughs in the room. Good. "I would say to those people no on both accounts. But, I doubt that will end any speculation."

"Are you going to be involved in this evening's American Consulate visit with the survivors of Ferguson, given your past relationship with the Consulate?" I didn't recognize the lady that asked the question, one of many new people that started showing up after Saturday night.

"The Mayor will be with them, but I will not. It is my belief and the belief of many here that the more people that go, the more of a circus it becomes. These people need real, tangible help, and handshakes from every one on the Pacific City Who's Who list don't do much to aid the relief."

And on and on and on.

"Mister Carter, do you believe there is a conflict of interest in your dating Cassandra Trellis, an editor for the Pacific City Globe?" I was wondering when the PC Times was going to try and play that card.

"Mister Twine, there is no conflict of interest, as our personal and professional lives are kept separate."

"Yet, you both arrived together at the Hilton, a professional event..."

"Mister Twine, your editor-in-chief Peter Boone's wife is the sister of Thomas Loeb who runs the company which supplies the paper the Times is printed on, as well as your competition the Globe. But, Boone has never once taken advantage of his relationship with Loeb for any gain. They are professional men who are able to keep their private lives out of their professional dealings. I would appreciate some credit as to my ability to do professional job while living my private life."

There was a bit of silence that didn't seem all that comfortable. Oops.

"I think I'll wrap it up with that, folks. We'll have to do this again sometime, say, same time tomorrow?"

A few people laughed, most didn't appreciate my sense of humor, which was understandable; it was a bad joke, but the press conference ended. And, I couldn't leave the room quick enough.

***

"The Mayor is in your office," Nancy Meyers said, as I walked by her desk.

"Of course, he is," I said, and I opened my door.

"Tracy Pine walks into City Hall," started Erlend Romanov with his back to me, as he stood on the other side of the room and stared out the window. "Walks up to you, walks into your office, and thirty minutes later walks out of your office and out of City Hall."

He pivoted on his heels, spinning to look at me, as I reached my desk and sat in on of the guest chairs.

"Does that sound about right?" Romanov asked, glaring at me.

"Roughly," I said, staring right back.

"Does that sound like what should have happened?"

"If she delivers Dean Williams, yes." His eyes narrowed. "Trust me on this, Erlend."

"You let a wanted criminal that was partially responsible for the death of one hundred and twenty people walk right into your hands and out again, Jeffery."

"For reason. It is under control, Erlend. Trust me."

Silence hung there, as we just stared at each other.

"Have I led you wrong before?" I asked.

"If you had taken your job and my advice more seriously, these people who not be walking the earth to kill people, Jeffery."

"Have I led you wrong before?" I said again, harsher this time, not bothering to hide my anger. Romanov smirked, as he heard it.

"There is a first time for everything, Jeffery. And, it could very well cost many more lives."

"Trust me, Erlend. I know what I'm doing."

He stared at me for a bit longer and then took a deep breath, seemed to loosen up.

"How was your lunch?" he asked, as he walked from around my desk and past me.

Lunch.

"It was fine," I said, not bothering to turn to look at him, as he kept walking and reached my office door.

"Did you and the butler have a nice conversation?"

"It was a hoot," I said.

"I bet," he said, as I heard my door open. "Be good, Jeffery."

I didn't respond, as he closed the door behind him.

It was quarter after two, and I was praying for five.

I took a deep breath and slouched in my seat, staring out the window behind my desk, as I fished out my cell phone.

"I didn't know Peter Boone was related to Thomas Loeb," was Cassandra's greeting.

"I had a feeling the question might come up, so I did my research."

"When did you have time for that?"

"Okay, I had Nancy do the research."

"You work quick."

"Tina must work quick if you've already heard about that."

"She called me as soon as your briefing was over, thought I'd like to know."

"Is there something up between you two that I don't know about?" I asked, as I stood up, walked around my desk, and kept looking out the window.

"Whatever do you mean?"

"Are you guys best friends or something?"

"So, what do you want?"

"You're dodging the question."

"You do it all the time, so there. What'd you call for?"

"Wanted to see where you'd like to go for dinner." I started bouncing on my heels a little bit, moving, doing something. Couldn't stand still for whatever reason. Joy? Stress?

"Oh, I hadn't really thought of it."

"Off the top of your head, when you think nice, quiet, romantic dinner with a sexy charmer like, say, me, what place do you think of?"

"McDonalds," she said quick.

"Consider it done."

"Why don't you just surprise me, Jeffery?"

"Because you might not like my surprise."

"I can feign pleasure very well."

"Good to know." She laughed a little on that, very easily catching my meaning. "Okay, so I'll pick a place."

"You'll pick a place, or Nancy will pick a place?"

"I'll figure something out," I said. "What time is best for you?"

"I'm getting out of here around four-thirty and will need some time to get ready."

"I'm not done until five. Can I pick you up around six?"

"Six would be great."

"Excellent. Also, so you're aware, I may have something come up for later, so I might not be able to make it a late night."

"Work related?"

"Work and extra curricular," I said. "A twofer."

"When might this come up?"

"It'd be late if at all, and I should know by the time I'm off," I said, a beep in my ear telling me I had another call. I pulled the phone away to check who it was.

"Actually," I said back into the phone. "I may know in just a minute. I've got another call coming in, so I'll let you go."

"Okay," she said. "I'll see you at six?"

"Six o'clock, I'll be there."

"Can't wait."

"Me neither."

And, she hung up. I answered the other call.

"Alfonse?"

"I have spoken with a couple gentlemen," he said, getting straight to the point. "Depending on what is needed and how much, it could take two to four weeks."

"Shit," I said. "Any chance of sooner?"

"It all depends on what is ordered. And, it will not be cheap, Jeffery."

"I didn't expect it to be," I said. "But, we won't know exactly how much it'll cost until we know what's needed."

"What you are asking for, Jeffery, is very risky for all involved."

"Some risks are worth it, Alfonse."

"I agree. But, you must understand what the consequences are if one of any number of things were to go wrong."

"I think that the benefits outweigh the risks here, Alfonse. In the long term, for the sake of everyone.

"How quickly do they need a response?"

"They would like to know by noon tomorrow."

"That's quick," I said.

"That is twenty-two hours to work with. I had to pull teeth for more than twelve. Any longer than that, and the risks increase more than they are comfortable with."

"Understood," I said. "I'll do what I can and get back to you."

"Do be careful, Jeffery."

"Be careful yourself."

Alfonse hung up, and I closed my phone, tapping the antenna on my chin, while I stared out the window and thought.

Two to four weeks. Maybe.

Two to four weeks.

And, Tracy Pine had promised me Dean Williams within three days.

Three days to take out an exploder. A man who would wipe out a city block with just a thought.

Three days.

I hated myself for it, but my mind went back to the same thought I'd had after my conversation with Self, the same solution that I'd dismissed then.

Two to three weeks compared to three days.

I couldn't quite dismiss it now.

Shit.

I dialed.

***

After another hour or so of reading messages, making calls, doing my job, I looked at the clock and cursed.

"Miss Meyers," I said, as I stepped out of my office, still pulling on my suit coat. "I've got a meeting at four, and I'll be gone for the day. My cell will be on, though."

"Understood, Mister Carter," she said, as I walked past her desk.

I was halfway to the elevator when I suddenly stopped and turned around.

"You know what," I said. "Why don't you take off at four? You've been here all weekend."

"That is very kind of you, Mister Carter," said Meyers, looking from her computer to me and giving a small smile. "I will keep it in mind."

"Do it, Nancy," I said, realizing after I said it that I'd just used her first name with her. "Everything will be here tomorrow."

"Not if I get it done tonight, Mister Carter." I opened my mouth to say something else, but she beat me to it. "You are going to be late for your four o'clock."

I looked to my watch and she was right.

Commissioner Barry Jordan sat across from my desk, dabbing at his brow with a handkerchief that he then struggled to put back into his pants pocket.

"We are pretty certain that these are the people responsible," said Jordan, gesturing to the folder on my desk, as he struggled to put his handkerchief back into his pants' pocket.

"How certain?" I asked, looking over to Officer Michael Self who sat in the chair next to Jordan, arms crossed, as he leaned back in his seat and stared at me, looking like he didn't want to be here but putting forward a good effort.

"Certain enough to where we can say they are persons of interest," said Jordan.

"So, what exactly do you want to do with this information, Commissioner?"

"Well, we're going to be holding a noon press conference."

"To release these names?"

Jordan nodded.

"And photographs to enlist the public's assistance."

"In what? In getting killed?"

Self smirked, as Jordan looked aghast.

"All of these people are extremely dangerous," I said, leaning forward and tapping a finger on the folder for emphasis. "Cooper and Williams in particular. You make them feel threatened, you make them think that any and everyone is an enemy, and, well, you're gonna have a hell of a problem on your hands."

"They're already dangerous," Self finally spoke. "And capable. If the people are aware, they can get themselves out of the way, call us, do something."

"The press is all over me for names," said Jordan. "They already have Thompson's and know he was specifically targeted in connection with these crimes."

"How do they know that?" I asked. "Has anyone on our end expressly stated he was connected?"

"We said he was wanted for questioning in connection with the case," said Jordan.

"Shit." I leaned back, as I took a deep breath and resisted the urge to rub my throbbing temples.

"The people want something," said Jordan.

"The people want results," I said. "And, a bunch of names is not results. It's an invite to a bloodbath." I looked to Self. "What do you think?"

"I'm sorry?"

"You're in this meeting for a reason, Officer Self," I said. "What do you think should be done? What would best help your investigation?"

"Identities are good; this is information we need," said Self, nodding to the folder. "And, tips from the public are a big help in apprehension normally. But, in this case, I agree with you, Mister Carter, that we should show a bit more hesitation in what we do with these names."

"The press are going to know anyway," said Jordan. "There's always someone willing to sell out this info. The public will find out. We should let them know."

"It's not really my call to make," I said with a small shrug. "But, my recommendation is to not release the names. Let every officer know them, and, if they leak, well, they leak."

"And, when the press ask why we didn't release the info?"

"You tell them what I told you. You tell them that we made the call in the public's best interest. Even better," I said, leaning forward and grabbing the folder, flipping through its contents quickly and pulling out one picture. "Leak this one."

I through the photograph of Frank Sign on my desk. Zoom Zoom.

"Why only one?" asked Jordan. "And, what do you mean leak this one?"

"Have someone give this to the press," I said. "Make the press think that this is the leak and the only name we have to run on at the moment. Ideally, once they get this one and are told that's it, they won't think something else is up."

"Why this one?" asked Self.

"Because I think he's the weakest link," I said, leaning back again. "Everyone who's evaluated him has said he's not quite right in the head, less so than the others. He's very jumpy, and he's probably easy to break. You lean on him, you make him public enemy number one, and he'll get very nervous. And then, he'll make a mistake. And, someone will see him.

"Also, he'll cause the least amount of damage," I said.

"What about one of the girls?" asked Jordan.

"This Teapot one looks too crazy to predict; I don't want the public to deal with her in the open. Pine's too stable; I don't think she'll react the way Sign will. We want someone to break, to come out in the open and make a mistake. I think Sign's the most likely to do it.

"And, even if he doesn't, ideally, this will make the press happy and make it easier for us to do our jobs."

Jordan sighed, struggling to get his handkerchief out of his pocket now.

"I still think the best route is full disclosure," he said.

"What's best for the investigation?" I asked, looking to Self.

"Full disclosure puts the public at risk, as Mister Carter said," Self said, nodding towards me while looking to Jordan. "We'll give them Sign; if that doesn't work, we'll talk about the ladies," he said, now looking to me. "Or give them Cooper. Williams is the one I want to be most careful with."

"You and me both," I said. "Your press conference is at noon?" Jordan nodded. "Okay. I've got the typical press briefing at one-thirty; if there's anything you want me to cover specifically, let me know sooner rather than later.

"Anything else, gentlemen?" Both shook their heads.

I stood, as Jordan and Self got to their feet, Self turning to leave without another word, Jordan seeming to stumble over himself to get his hand out over my desk. I shook it, his grip thick, tight.

"I am glad to see that you are okay, Mister Carter," said Jordan. "Was quite a weekend for you, I bet."

"It was quite the weekend for a good many people, Commissioner. I had it fairly easy comparatively."

Jordan smiled and nodded, though the shift on his face told me I'd probably confused him. He let go of my hand and turned to join Self who stood holding the door open for Jordan.

"Officer Self," I said, catching him before he stepped out. "Could I have a moment?"

Self looked at me confused for a moment before closing the door and coming back to stand in front of my desk, hands behind his back as if waiting for orders.

"Should the police happen to come across Williams or Cooper," I asked, "how exactly would you go about apprehending them?"

"I'm sorry?" he asked.

"Do your people have what they need in order to safely capture either of these people?"

"I'm afraid I'm not in any position to say how well equipped the department is overall."

"Bullshit," I said. "Self, I know you know what's up with the department. If anyone knows how well equipped the department is, it's you.

"If your officers were to come across Dean Williams or Simon Cooper, do you have the means to apprehend them safely?"

"Cooper perhaps," said Self, clearing his throat and the pausing.

"And Williams?"

"The only way I am aware of for dealing with an exploder is from a distance," said Self, the look in his eyes harsh and serious. "And, you only get one shot."

"Shit," I said with a sigh, looking down at my desk, the folder and papers spread across it.

"Lucky for you it's not your job to worry about," said Self, getting a wry chuckle out of me.

"Yeah," I said, shaking my head and looking back to Self. "If there is anything I can do on my end for your guys, you let me know. Especially in respect for taking care of these guys," I said, tapping my desk for emphasis.

"Short of one of your New Mages being able to make this guy magically disappear," said Self, "I think there is little to be done on your end."

I nodded and looked back to my desk.

"Thank you, Officer Self."

He left without another word, leaving me to my thoughts.

***

My cell phone rang, as the elevator doors opened, and I stepped into the lobby and to the front doors of City Hall.

"Jeffery Carter," I said, as I answered.

"Cassandra Trellis," I got back, and I couldn't help but smile.

"How are ya?" I asked, as I held the door for a couple people stepping in, nodding to them, getting a nod in response from one of them. Good enough.

"Good," Cassandra said on the other end. "How's your day going?"

"It's only gonna get worse before it gets any better," I said. "Expect a leak sometime today with the name of one of the group's members."

"They only have one name?"

"That is going to be leaked."

"Why only one?"

"I'll have to explain it later," I said, as I crossed the street and headed towards a deli shop a couple blocks from City Hall.

"And, did you talk to Tina Wilson about me Saturday night?"

"Sunday morning, yeah, after my first press conference."

"Why?"

"To check up on you."

"You could have called me first."

"I didn't know if you were even home. I'm sorry if it's causing any problems."

"Just ribbing that I don't need."

"They're just jealous."

"Yeah, you tell yourself that," said Cass. "Still, you're quite the buzz about the newsroom."

"Really?"

"Yes. It's not everyday a city official is publicly beaten up and still goes out of his way to do his job."

"I wasn't that bad off."

"To hear some of these folks talk, it was a miracle you survived, let alone walked away."

"Well, those folks obviously don't know what they're talking about. But, I guess I'm flattered to be such a hot topic of conversation."

"Not just that, Jeffery, but I think you really went a long way to showing the people something this weekend."

"If I catch the S.O.B.s that brought down Ferguson, then I'll be showing them something. Until then, I'm scrambling," I said, as I ducked into the deli.

"Listen, I have to run," I said. "I'm about to get lunch and then go back to work. Are you free for dinner tonight?"

"Dinner?" said Cass with faux shock. "You mean an actual sit down dinner? A date?"

"I might even be able to find a couple candles."

"Why, Jeffery, you are such a charmer."

"I do my best." I stopped by a table, nodded at the gentleman seated there, and he merely raised an eyebrow to acknowledge my presence. "Can I call you later then?"

"You better."

And, we ended our conversation.

"Cell phones are going to be the end of civil discourse," said Alfonse Saint Libatique, shaking his head, as I sat down.

"Hey, until they can simulate sex, there will always been room for civil discourse." I gave him the biggest grin I could muster.

"Such talk from a public official," he said, as he shook his head again and clicked his tongue.

"What can I say? You bring out the best in me. Have you ordered yet?"

"I have," said Alfonse. "For the both of us."

"You didn't have to do that."

"No, I did not. So, what could possibly be so urgent that you would call me on such short notice?"

I glanced around, making sure no one had focused on us, that no one was listening in, and I was pretty sure we were in the good.

"Alfonse," I said, as I leaned over the table slightly to get closer, lowering my voice. "What do you know about gun running?"

The look on Alfonse's face was priceless.

***

I headed back to City Hall and through the front doors, making a beeline for the elevators, not noticing the woman approaching me until she called out my name.

"Mister Carter?"

I stopped and turned. A familiar face framed by blonde hair that fell over her shoulders and blue eyes that glanced around the room as if she were nervous.

Oh, shit.

"Yes?" I said, as she stepped to me, as I started to look around the lobby, to look for anything, anyone suspicious.

"Mister Carter," she said softly, pausing, taking a deep breath, looking around again before looking back into my eyes. "My name is Betty Ware," she said, holding out a hand for me to shake.

I took it gently and saw her tense, look to our hands for a moment, and then relax. I brought my other hand around and cupped her's between mine.

"Are you okay, Miss Ware?" I asked, taking another glance around.

She looked to me, a smile trying to come across her face, but she fought it, her other hand joining the little hand party between us, squeezing my hands slightly.

"Could I please have a couple moments of your time, Mister Carter?" she asked. "It's very important."

"Well, Miss Ware," I said. "I'm afraid that today isn't exactly..."

"Mister Carter," she said, stepping closer to me, severely cutting the distance between us, still holding my hands with hers, up now, chest level. "Please, just five minutes of your time."

I resisted the urge to glare at her, to show any sign of recognizing her.

"Well, what can I help you with, Miss Ware?"

"In private, Mister Carter," she said, and I swallowed hard. "Please?"

In private then.

"Okay," I said with a nod, pulling my hands free and gesturing toward the elevators. "My office then."

I walked with her to the elevators, stood there, as we waited, and went into the car with her when it arrived, the two of us riding with a short Asian lady I did not recognize. Neither of us said a word, as I stood there with my hands behind my back, staring at the brass doors, staring at the reflection of her glancing to me, away from me, back to me.

Ding.

I gestured for her to step off first when the doors opened, and then I walked out, past her, toward my office.

"Miss Meyers," I said, as I opened my door. "Please hold my calls for a few minutes."

"Yes, Mister Carter," Meyers said, looking up briefly from her computer, to me, to Miss Ware, back to me, and then to the computer.

I waited for Miss Ware to enter first and then followed her in, closing the door behind me.

"So, why exactly are you...?" I started but got cut off, as she quickly reached up and put her hands on both sides of my face.

"Do you feel anything?" she asked, leaning toward me, me leaning back.

"I feel a good many things right now, Miss Pine," I said. She jerked her hands away and took a step back at the mention of her name. "But, if you're trying to get a rise out of me, I'm afraid it doesn't quite work on me."

And, she smiled.

"What do you want, Tracy?" I said, as I stepped toward her, thinking she'd back off, thinking I'd be foreboding or threatening or something, but she didn't move, just stared me right in the eyes, smiling the whole time, seeming to want me to step to her.

"Do you have any idea how long it has been since I've been able to touch someone, to truly feel someone without..." she started, stopped, paused, her eyes tearing up. She reached up for my face again, but I batted her hand away.

"Please?" she asked. "Just, please, let me..." She tried again, and this time I grabbed her wrist.

"You're under fucking arrest," I hissed through clenched teeth.

"I want a deal," she said, her smile gone, a fire in her eyes, as she tried to jerk her wrist free, tried and failed.

"You don't get to dictate shit," I said.

"I'll give you Simon Cooper."

"Fuck Simon," I said. "I want Dean."

"I thought Simon was your nemesis."

"Dean Williams killed over a hundred people. I want his ass nailed."

"Then, I want a deal."

"Then, talk to the police."

"No," Pine said, tugging again, as I let her wrist go. "I deal only with you."

"I don't have any authority to..."

"That's bullshit, and you know it, Bush," she spat. "You've got plenty of power, and, if you want Dean Williams, you better use it."

"What do you want?"

"I want a clean slate. For me and Mary," she said.

"Who?"

"Teapot. I want a clean slate for both of us."

"I can't do that," I said.

"You can..."

"I can't," I stated again. "Because a lot of shit that you did is federal. And, any power I or City Hall has ends with the city limits."

"Then, you could at the very least make Pacific City a very safe place for us to be."

"And, for this you deliver Dean."

"I'm not finished," Pine said. "I want clean slates for Mary and myself, or at the very least I want us to be able to go about our business in Pacific City without any police officers or science heroes apprehending us."

"If your business is legit."

"Of course."

"What else do you want?"

"You," she said. She smiled, as I probably looked either very confused or very pissed. Maybe a mix.

"You have no idea how long it has been since I've been able to touch someone," she said, as she stepped towards me, tentatively reached up, hesitated, and then touched my cheek. "To be touched by someone. I can't have them touch me. I haven't been touched in so long."

"And if I say no?"

"Whole deal's off," she said, quickly pulling her hand away and taking a step back. "But, if you say yes, I'll give you the rest of the crew."

"All three of them."

"I'll let you know when and where to find each one. How you apprehend them is your business."

I glared at her while I thought, while I realized this was insane, this was stupid, this was something I should not be making the call on.

"Two free tickets and one night, Bush," she said with a smirk. "And, you get to save the day."

I resisted the urge to find the nearest bar and drink. It wouldn't help, not in the long run. Hell, it probably would make my problems worse, someone seeing me go into a bar, get trashed, and stumble out, news at eleven.

I didn't want to go home, though. Home being Isiah's place. And, Cassandra's wasn't really sounding like a good idea. City Hall sounded worse.

No, I wanted to be on the rooftops. But, for that I needed a mask.

Which I had left at Eldritch's.

Which was why I found myself standing in front of her apartment door.

Just get the mask and leave, Jeffery.

I knocked and waited. No response.

I knocked again and waited more.

Shit.

No mask meant no roof jumping. Which was probably exactly what these people had in mind.

Rar.

Where the hell was Eldritch at nine on a Sunday night?

I walked toward the end of the hallway and the stairwell, opening the door and pausing, looking up stairs as opposed down.

The roof.

It was worth a shot.

I went up the stairs and reached the top, opened the door to the roof, a cool wind cutting across, as I stepped out. There she was, straight ahead, sitting on the edge of the roof.

But, she wasn't alone.

Johann Weisz must have heard me open the door because he turned and looked over his shoulder at me, glared at me, and then shook his head.

"It's a regular ol' party out here," I said with a smile, Eldritch quickly looking around to me, as I walked towards them.

Eldritch got to her feet, while Weisz just looked away from me and over the edge of the building.

"What do you want, Jeffery?" Eldritch asked, trying to be angry with me, but I could tell it was a front, a show, as if she were trying to impress somebody. Probably herself.

"I left my mask here," I said. "Thought I'd come by and pick it up."

"Uh huh," said Eldritch, crossing her arms, as I stopped a few feet from her.

"Uh huh," I said back with a smug look, hands in my pockets, not bothering to let her get to me. "How ya doin', Weisz?" I asked without looking from Eldritch.

"Not sure yet," said Weisz, his voice light, like he was about to say something smart, like he'd been waiting for me to ask. "But, the night's still young. Maybe I'll get my ass kicked and go get some apartments blown up before the night is over."

"You do that," I said, still staring Eldritch in the eyes. "It'd be nice to actually see you out and doing something, Weisz."

"Sorry if I don't live up to your expectations, hot shot," said Weisz, as he knocked back whatever he was drinking. "But, last I checked, you didn't run this city or this team, so why don't you go fuck yourself?"

"Can I get my mask?" I asked Eldritch, and she glared at me for a moment before sighing.

"Fine," she said, walking past me and toward the door. I turned and followed.

"Hey, Jeffy," shouted Weisz, and I stopped in the doorway and turned to him. He was looking over his shoulder at me, a smile on his face, lifting his can in a mock toast. "Next time you go heroing, try actually saving some lives."

I didn't bother to respond, just turning and heading downstairs, Weisz's laugh echoing behind me.

***

I followed Eldritch into her place without saying a word, waiting just inside the door, as she walked across the room and into the bathroom, coming out a moment later with my pants and shirt from the night before, my latex Dubya mask laying on top.

"Thank you," I said, as I met her half way and then turned to the futon where the gym bag my fresh clothes had come in earlier still sat.

"Are you going out tonight?" Eldritch asked, as I crammed my clothes in the bag and hesitated before shoving the mask in there as well.

"Yeah, probably," I said, as I picked up the bag and slid the shoulder strap up my arm. "More to think than look for a fight, though."

"Did you go into City Hall?"

"Briefly, then right back out," I said, turning and going towards the door. "I'm gonna get going. Don't want to keep ya from your friend and all."

"Jeffery, don't be like that."

"Like what?" I asked, as I stopped in the doorway and turned back to Eldritch.

"Nevermind," she said after a moment, shaking her head.

"No, like what, Eldritch?"

"Why are you so threatened by Johann?"

"Wait, you think I'm threatened by him?" I laughed and shook my head, holding my hands up. "Good night, Eldritch."

"Jeffery..." she said, as I turned to leave.

I spun back to face her.

"He's an asshole, Eldritch. An outright asshole. He's been nothing but a pain in the ass since he got here, and I cannot think of a single goddamn thing he has done to help anyone but himself. The only reason he's here, the only reason he's bothering with any of us, is because he thinks it'll get him to Victoria's scarab. It's all he wants. And, he's not above using you to get to it."

"And, how exactly does using me get him closer to the scarab?"

Again, I held up my hands and shook my head.

"And, for your information," she continued before I could say anything. "I was the one that came onto him."

That got my attention.

"Really?" I asked, not sure if I should believe her or not.

"Just get the hell out, Jeffery."

It took a moment for me to register what she said, and I just nodded once, turned, and left.

"Who kicked you in the balls?" asked Weisz, as we passed, while I was walking down the hall.

I didn't reply, just going to the stairs and down.

***

All night diners litter downtown Pacific City. Thankfully. Not that it was late, but I wanted a place that might be open all night just incase I decided never to leave.

Coffee and my thoughts were the only company I wanted at that moment.

But, the girl at the counter so wanted to be friendly.

"Can I get you anything else?" she asked for the third or fourth time.

I looked up from my barely touched coffee, noticed that her nametag called her Jenny, and smiled.

"I'm all right, Jenny," I said. "Thanks."

"You aren't a regular here, are you?" she asked, leaning on the counter, trying so hard to strike up a conversation. I was one of only three people in the joint, so she must have been bored.

"No, ma'am," I said, shaking my head slightly, as I picked up my coffee, took a sip, set it back down, and returned to studying it.

"'Cause you look awfully familiar."

I couldn't help but smirk at that.

"I get that a lot," I said, hoping I could leave it at that.

"Really?" she said, smacking the gum in her mouth, chewing with her mouth open, big, yawning chews. "No, I've seen you before. You go to the Dominion much?"

"The what?"

"I guess that's a no," Jenny said, as she smiled and chewed. "It's a bar over on Tally, between Twine and Young. I go there with some friends almost every Friday night. I mean, if I can get off and all that."

"Yeah," I said. "I don't believe I've ever been there."

"You should go sometime," she said. "It's kinda small, but really good. No cover and stuff."

"I might check it out sometime," I said, taking another sip of my coffee.

"It's a date," Jenny said with a snap of her gum, and I looked to her just in time to catch her wink and big grin, as she pushed herself off the counter and went to help the two other people in the diner.

"Great," I muttered to myself and went back to studying my coffee.

Over one hundred people died because of me the night before, and I was sitting in a goddamn diner trying to figure out what to do about my personal life.

"Damn it, Jeffery," I hissed to myself.

I looked up and around the diner, noticing a TV in a corner to the side, closed caption on the news.

Erlend Romanov. Shaking the hand of a man laying in a hospital bed.

"Son of a bitch," I muttered.

"He sure as hell is taking advantage of this situation," I heard, and I looked up to see the cook standing by the doorway to the kitchen, shaking his head, as he stared at the television.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, hell, numbers are in the gutter one day, then, boom, a convenient event happens where he can show how much he cares about the people."

"Wouldn't the attack hurt his numbers, though?" I asked, the cook looking my way. "I mean, he's a pro-science-hero/strong-on-science-villain-crime mayor. To have something like this happen," I gestured to the television. "On his watch says he's not as effective as he told the people he could be.

"Besides," I continued. "Now he's damned if he does, damned if he doesn't with how to react to this. He can go to the hospital and visit people, tell them everything will be all right, make sure they have what they need, and have people say he's capitalizing on the event, or he can ignore them and their needs and have people screaming he doesn't care."

"Just too damn convenient if you ask me," said the cook, looking back to the television.

"Maybe the attack was meant to capitalize on the mayor's numbers," I said, looking back to my coffee. "Poll results come out putting him in the low double digits approval rating, someone figures he's on the verge of having the city turn on him, and maybe an attack will push it over the edge."

Hadn't really thought of that before I said it.

Interesting.

"Or, maybe it was just a random outburst by one of the many science villains hiding throughout the city," I said, looking back up. "Who knows."

"Yeah," said the cook, as Jenny came back around the counter.

"Need a refill?" she asked, and I shook her off, standing up and reaching for my wallet.

"You all have a good night," I said, tossing a ten spot on the counter.

***

"Evening," I said, as Cassandra opened her door.

"It's well past evening, Jeffery," she said with a smile, as she stepped aside and let me in.

I stepped into her apartment and kissed her, as she closed the door.

"Sorry I didn't call ahead," I said. "I think my cell's at work."

"That's okay," she said.

It was then I noticed she was in a robe.

"Did I get you out of bed?"

"Had you waited another ten minutes, you would have," she said, as she walked into her living room, and I followed. "So, are you just stopping in, or are you looking to spend the night?" I liked the playful tone in her voice.

"Hadn't really thought about staying the night," I said, as she sat on the couch, and I sat down too, on the opposite side, putting distance between us for whatever reason.

"So, you're just stopping in," she said, as she propped her feet up in my lap.

"And then playing it by ear," I said, and we shared a smile.

Nothing better to do, I started massaging her right foot.

"So, I'm curious," I said. "At the Globe, how soon after events like Ferguson do you all run polls on approval ratings and all that?"

"Are you here to talk business, Jeffery?" Cass asked, sounding relaxed more than upset.

"No, just, well, it came to mind, and I thought I'd ask."

"We'll probably start polling around Wednesday, let it run over the weekend, and release the results middle of next week," she said matter of factly.

I moved on to massaging her other foot.

"Had a talk with some guy in a diner thinking that the Mayor was taking advantage of the situation," I said. "Or caused it."

"You'll find people who think like that," Cass said. "But, they're far and few between."

"With this Mayor, I'm sure there are more of them than usual."

"Possibly. You're good at that," she said, and I assumed she was talking about the foot massage.

"Thank you," I said. "It's a secret ability that I only reveal to a select few."

"So, I'm one of the lucky ones to be chosen?"

"You and every cute girl in Southern California," I said with a smile, and she pulled her feet away real quick and sat up, smacking my arm. "What can I say? I was a player in college."

"Yeah, right," she said, and she leaned in and kissed me. "So, are you staying the night, Mister Carter?" she asked without pulling her face too far from mine.

"Is that an invitation?"

"It's an inquiry," Cass said, tilting her head, leaning in, kissing my neck, gently, softly, oh-so-nicely.

"Is there more of that involved?" I asked softly.

"Maybe," was her breathy response, followed by another kiss.

"Yeah," I said. "I think I can stick around for the night."

"Goody."

Goody, indeed.

They saw me coming, so there was little I could do to avoid them.

The four smokers in the press corps were quick to stub out their cigarettes, as I approached.

"How are you feeling, Mister Carter?" said one real quick, a young guy out of the Star.

"I'm fine, Robert, thanks," I said.

"Thought you had bed rest?" asked another one, a guy from one of the local television affiliates that I couldn't remember at that moment.

"I've never been good about listening to doctors' orders," I said, and I stopped at the doors to city hall, turning to the small gathering. "Off the record, what's the word on Ferguson?"

"They pulled another four out in the last hour, two of them alive," Robert said before the others could talk.

"Thank God for small things," I muttered. "Any of you guys got an ear to the ground with the feds? Any word why they've been snubbing us?"

"Other than the obvious?" said the sole woman in the group, a short, old lady that must have covered the big bang for KGPC.

"Anything specific?" I asked.

"Just that,, if the Mayor wants to run PC like it's its own country, he can handle it himself," said the guy I didn't remember the name of.

"Great," said with a short nod. "Nevermind people are dying. All right, I gotta go; thanks."

I turned and walked into City Hall. Few people were in the lobby, being a Sunday, but more than usual given the news of the day. Most of them looked my way, as I walked toward the elevators.

I pressed the up button and stepped back, waited, looked to a few other folks waiting, and nodded.

"How are you, Mister Carter?" asked one, a blonde lady that I'd seen around the building before, that had avoided me completely before.

"I'm doing okay, all things considered; thank you," I said.

"You put up one hell of a fight last night," said a gentleman I hadn't seen before, smiling at me, nodding his head back in some sort of congrats.

"I'm just glad no one got seriously hurt," I said, as an elevator opened. "Me included."

I gave them a smile that they all returned, one of them chuckling, and I stepped on the elevator, all of them following. I pressed the button for my floor and the lady leaned over and pressed for another floor and the doors closed.

"You sure you're all right, though?" asked the lady again. "You went through that piano pretty hard."

"You'd have to go through it hard to go through it at all," said the third person, a short, balding man named Walter that did a lot of interoffice mail deliveries.

"I must have hit it right because I'm pretty okay," I said, as the elevator stopped and opened.

My floor.

Thank God.

"Good to see you're all right," said the lady, as I stepped off.

"Thank you all very much," I said, nodding and giving an embarrassed smirk, as I stepped off.

I didn't bother to look back and walked towards my office, as the elevator closed behind me.

"Good evening, Miss Meyers," I said, as I approached.

"Seventy-two hours is three days, Mister Carter," Nancy Meyers said.

"I'm not here to do any heavy lifting," I said, reaching for my doorknob. "Just to get up to date."

"You can start by working on thank you notes," she said, as she continued typing, and I opened my door.

"What?"

The sight in my office answered that question.

"Why is there a jungle in my office?"

Flowers on almost every flat surface greeted me, as I stepped in.

"There is also a stack of telephone messages and print outs of e-mail well-wishes on your desk."

"Yippie," I said, as I stepped back out of my office and closed the door. "I'll deal with that later. What are the latest numbers on dead and missing?"

"101 confirmed dead; they believe there are another twenty-five still missing."

"And, the Australian government won't help?"

"They have not responded to attempts to contact them."

"Has anyone tried the American consulate?"

Meyers stopped her typing and looked at me.

"For what, Mister Carter?"

"To put pressure on the feds. I counted no less than three Americans I recognized from the consulate at the Hilton last night, so I would think that they have a slight personal interest in this."

Meyers just looked at me for a bit as if waiting for more.

"Is the Mayor in?" I asked.

"He should be in his office."

"Great," I said, and I headed for the stairs.

***

"And, why would the American's react any differently?"

Anna Romanova leaned back in her seat and took a drag off of her cigarette. After about a minute of her questioning why I was there and me trying my damnedest not to yell at her for Eldritch's attack, I had mentioned the consulate. The look on her face was priceless.

"At least three American's of note from the consulate were there at the Hilton last night, so there is a vested interest in helping us capture the villains. Part of that is assisting search-and-rescue operations, so an investigation can begin sooner rather than later."

"The Australian government has failed to respond to public pleas for assistance from me. Why would they cave to anyone else?"

"The international community is watching to see what happens here, Anna. The Red Cross has decided to set up operations; why can't the feds come in?"

"By the time they respond, search-and-rescue will be over, Jeffery. I have given them an opportunity to step to the plate, and they have chosen to avoid it. I honestly do not want them in this city, so why should I go out of my way to try and have them show up?"

"What if it worked out differently?" I said, as I thought of something. "What if Australia doesn't show up, what if we don't ask for Australia's assistance. Instead, we ask for America's."

"I want them here even less," said Anna with a glare.

"Or, we simply ask America to criticize Australia's actions."

"America and Australia are very close allies, Jeffery, especially in the wake of the War on Terror."

"Shit," I said, leaning back, thinking. "Do we have names and origins of victims?"

"Origins?"

"Are any of the deceased American? Or, better yet, are any of the missing American?"

"All of the missing are locals, Jeffery. But, two Americans are among the dead."

"Any survivors?"

"Yes. What are you getting at?"

"The consulate's going to want to know about Americans involved, maybe even publicly visit them. Call them to personally set it up."

"To what end, Jeffery?"

"If the US won't come out and say they don't approve of what Australia's doing, then we can show their disapproval by highlighting a visit by the American consulate to the wounded."

"That is hardly a sign of reproach."

"It's all about spin, Anna. I don't see any Australian officials coming to visit the wounded, do you? But, the Americans will. They'll brave the dangers of Pacific City, work with the local government, just to make sure their people are okay. How many survived?"

"Two," Anna said. "Half of a family of four."

"Even better," I said. "So few Americans, yet their government will still be there for them. Where is Australia in her people's time of need?"

A smile started to spread on Anna's face.

"Don't," I said, pointing at her. "No, don't take this for something bad or negative. I'm not doing this for you; I'm doing this for then. I mean it when I ask where Australia is for her people. They had a goddamn duty to show up, and they didn't. So, we'll make them pay for it."

"It might not work, Jeffery. The international community will not care."

"But, the people of Pacific City will. When Pacific City needed help, where did it come from? Not from the federal government; no, it came from local fire and rescue and City Hall.

"Then, we'll see how your approval rating looks."

"And, this wasn't for me?"

"If the people approve of you, then they'll be more likely to approve of what you're doing, and, if that is making them safer, then so be it."

I pushed myself out of my seat.

"Call the Consulate, Anna. They're going to want to visit the victims anyway; you might as well beat them to the punch and invite them. And, have you been down there yet?"

Anna shook her head and leaned forward to stub out her cigarette.

"Okay. I'm going there now, you should schedule something tomorrow or sometime before the American's go, so your first time showing up isn't to impress the foreign crowd."

"And, why are you heading down there?"

"Because we need to have someone show up as a sign of involvement. That and I want to see how things are going first hand."

Anna narrowed her eyes and smirked, as she leaned back again.

"I'm not going to start digging people up, if that's what you mean. But, I need to go down there. I have to satisfy myself that much."

"Have you visited your girlfriend?"

I closed my eyes and breathed deep, resisted the urge to say that she wasn't my girlfriend, then remembering something she told me.

"I have," I said. "And, I don't appreciate your grilling her last night."

"Is that what she said happened?"

"That's what I'm saying happened," I said. "She is not a suspect in any of this and should not be treated as such."

"Jeffery..."

"Perhaps if you spent your time actually looking for the people involved in this instead, we could make progress on catching them," I said. "I will not have the people in my life picked apart for whatever fucked up reason you may come up with, Anna. She is not part of this, and you will leave her alone."

"Are you finished?"

I glared at Anna, as she smiled.

"Jeffery, my questioning of her was brief and only to satisfy my own curiosity as to her relationship with Simon Cooper. I left in agreement with you, that she is not a suspect in any of this. Aside from that, I have every right to question whomever I want, whenever I want, and whether or not that detracts from what you think is the priority is no concern of mine. Am I clear?"

"Yeah," I said with a dismissive waive, as I turned to head for the door. "You do whatever the hell you want; I just dance when you tell me to."

"I'm glad you understand," said Anna, and I glanced over my shoulder to see her smiling.

I turned and left without saying anything else.

***

Red Cross had set up a temporary shelter in the gym of an elementary school only a few blocks from Ferguson Place. I was surprised by how few people were actually inside, only about thirty or so, and it only took a moment for me to realize that this was all that was left in the way of survivors or those who weren't seriously injured. Minus the few who got hotel rooms or were staying with family.

I prayed that it was a hell of a lot more than a few.

"How are you on food?" I asked the woman that stood beside me, her head only coming to my shoulders, her brown hair pulled back into a pony tail.

Rebecca Sears adjusted her glasses with one finger on the bridge and took a deep breath.

"We're okay, actually," she said. "We brought some supplies with us, and the community has really stepped up and given more than enough."

"Cots and blankets and such?"

"All covered, Mister Carter," said Sears, as she looked to me with a small smile. "There are people who are well trained in handling these things, you know."

"I know," I said, as I just looked at the people milling about, families gathered around, some folks playing cards, a guy with a guitar in the corner, everyone just trying to act as normal as possible. "Why don't we just put them up in hotel rooms?"

"That's not something we do, really," said Sears. "We're better able to meet their needs in a setting like this, but, in the long term, that is something the government may want to look into."

"If the government even bothers," I said with a hint of bitterness. I looked over to her. "May I?" I asked, nodding to the gym.

Sears nodded, and I turned and walked out of the doorway and to the nearest family. A few other heads looked up to take notice of my entrance. Or, maybe it was the small group of reporters and camera men that followed me in, despite my best efforts to ward them off.

I stopped before I reached anyone and turned to the group of five that halted a few yards behind me.

"No pictures unless the family says it's okay," I said, wagging a finger at them. "This is bad enough; they don't need to be hounded."

"We've been doing this long enough to know the rules," said one smartass photographer.

"And, you'll let me reiterate them, or you'll be tossed," I said, glaring at him. "You respect their privacy, understand?"

Nods and agreements, the photographer suddenly very interested in his camera.

I turned and approached a family of three that sat around playing a board game between a couple cots. The father looked up, as I approached and was quick to his feet, his wife joining him, as she noticed what was going on, but I tried to wave them back down.

"I'm sorry; don't get up," I said, and the gentleman just shook his head.

"It's no trouble," he said, their kid getting to her feet. She looked no older than six or so.

"Jeffery Carter," I said, extending a hand which the father shook.

"Ernest Pride," said the father, his grip firm but not too firm. Professional, nothing to prove. "This is my wife Trisha," he said, gesturing to the woman whom I shook the hand of as well. "And our daughter Lisa."

I crouched down to Lisa's level and shook her hand.

"Hello, Lisa," I said.

"Hi," was her quick reply, as she grasped onto her father's leg.

"What are you playing?" I asked her, as I looked down at the game.

"Chutes and Ladders," she said, still holding onto her father for dear life.

"I used to play Chutes and Ladders," I said, looking back to her with a smile. "I wasn't that good at it, though. Are you any good?"

She nodded quickly.

"She's winning," said her mother, but Lisa just stared at me.

"They always let me win," Lisa said, her parents giving an embarrassed chuckle. I laughed too.

"Oh, I'm sure that's not the case," I said, standing back up and looking to her parents.

"Are you all doing okay?" I asked them.

"Well enough," Ernest said, his voice betraying him a little bit.

"We're going to do everything we can to make sure you have what you need," I said. "And, so you can get back on your feet."

"We're not looking for handouts," said Trisha quickly.

"And, we're not just handing them out," I said. "If you all need anything, you let us know, you let me know." I fished a business card out of my pocket and handed it to her.

"You gonna personally beat up the guy that did this?" I heard from behind me, and I turned to see one of the other people in the gym standing a bit off, arms cross, a smirk on his face. He was picking a fight.

"I'm going to do everything I can to help see that he's captured and brought to justice."

"Why don't you put on your costume and go find him, then?"

"I'm sorry?" I said with a bit of shock.

"Oh, come on," said the man, rolling his eyes. "Everyone knows you're one of them New Mages. So, why haven't you all caught the guy that did this yet?"

"I'm afraid it's not as easy as snapping your fingers, Mister..."

"Why are you here sucking up for these cameras when you could be out there finding the sonofabitch that blew up our homes and killed all those people? Why don't you actually do something productive?"

"Sir, I'm afraid that..."

"You want to do something to help us? Why don't you actually stop these things from happening?!"

"Sir..."

"Or, are we not worth the effort? Are we only useful to you as victims? 'Cause that's the only time you guys show up! Afterwards, to clean up, to make yourself look good and productive."

"I don't think..."

"Some fuckin' heroes. When's the last time you even bothered to..."

"I'm only one man!" I shouted, finally shutting the man up. "A man, damn it, like you, or him, or anyone else in this room. You ask why I haven't caught the guy, well, why haven't YOU caught him? Because it's not that simple, because it takes time and effort, and protecting this city is harder work than you will ever know.

"For every event like this that happens, there are untold hundreds that are stopped. For every person that is hurt, a hundred, a thousand get to sleep peacefully at night. So, I'm sorry, I'm sorry we're not as perfect as we try to be, I'm sorry that this happened, I'm sorry it couldn't be stopped. But, all I can do now, all we can do now, is try and make things better, try and fix what we can and do our damnedest to find the bastard that did this and bring him to justice."

I stopped and realized I'd said too much, glaring at the man who'd goaded me, a smug look on his face. I shook my head and looked away from him, saw the rest of the room had all heard exactly what I'd said, had all looked up to stare right at me, a mix of emotions on their faces, most of them just surprised at the outburst.

"I'm sorry," I said to the room. "I'm sorry you all had to go through this tragedy, and I'm sorry so many have had to suffer. But, I can't change the past. All we can do is provide you with what you need to get your lives back together.

"We've all been through worse," I said, looking down at my hands. "This city's been through worse, and she's pulled through. We've all pulled through before." I looked back up. "And, we'll do it again.

"I promise we'll find the man that did this and bring him to justice. I promise that we will learn from this and work hard to do everything we can to stop this from happening again. I promise that we'll get through this and come out stronger and better.

"I'm sorry," I said with a shrug. "But, that's all I can give you right now."

I looked around the room and everyone seemed to wait for more, but I had nothing left.

I looked to the Pride family, looked down to Lisa, clutching her father's leg, and swallowed hard.

"I'm sorry," I said, and I turned, headed for the door.

Rebecca Sears stood by the door, staring at me, as I approached and stopped next to her.

"I'd like a list of every family here," I said, as I looked at my hands again. "How many people are in each, what their needs are, and the like."

"Mister Carter, we're well equipped to take care of them," Sears said.

"Temporarily," I said, looking up to lock eyes with her. "I'm looking at the long term. I'd like names and needs, please. And, I will make sure they're met for the long term."

She nodded and looked back to the room. I resisted the urge to do the same.

"Sorry to trouble you, Miss Sears," I said, and I left the gymnasium.

"...with the known death toll at 98 while 33 people are still reported missing. Mayor Erlend Romanov again publicly appealed to the Australian government for assistance in rescue operations with no response from the federal government..."

I woke to find myself in a sparse loft apartment, laying on a futon in the center of the room, the television to my right which turned off when I looked, a workout machine to the right, a bay window at my feet. I didn't bother to look at what was behind me because my eyes settled on Eldritch who was sitting in a chair near the foot of the bed.

I couldn't tell the look on her face, the sun coming through the window behind her and silhouetting her body. I tried to shield my eyes from the sun and she apologized, turned and reached up and closed the blinds.

"Good morning," she said with a small smirk, her hair pulled back in a pony tail that bobbed as she turned back to me, her hand coming down to wrap around the other side of a coffee mug she held at her knees.

"Is it?" I asked, glaring at her as I stretched slightly and then turned to put my feet on the floor.

I realized then I was naked.

"Actually it's evening," Eldritch said as I brought the sheet around to cover my legs. "That's a beautiful view of the sunset behind me."

"Of course it is," I said, looking around, trying to find my clothes. "Where are my pants?"

Eldritch stood up and walked past me. I noticed a kitchen kinda thing on the last side of the room, a counter that split it from the rest of the place, where she grabbed a gym bag.

"Here," she said, tossing it at me. I caught it with my chest and opened it on up. "Isiah brought those over earlier today."

"What's the story Erlend's giving the press about me?" I asked as I pulled my clothes out. Just jeans, t-shirt, change of underwear and socks. All I needed.

"That you went back to your office after the press conference," started Eldritch as she walked past me and sat back in her seat, still holding her cup of whatever, "felt a little dizzy and a doctor checked you out. Nothing serious, minor concussion, scrapes, bruises, maybe a couple of bruised ribs. Recommended 72 hours of bed rest."

I nodded as I stood up.

"What's the real diagnosis?" I asked as I turned my back to Eldritch as I let the sheet fall, pulling on my underwear.

"Minor concussion, scrapes, bruises, maybe a couple of bruised ribs. 72 hours bed rest."

"Yeah, right," I said as I grabbed my pants and started to pull them on. "So we're looking at about 130 dead?" I asked, catching Eldritch staring at me out of the corner of my eye. She didn't answer, just stare. "Eldritch?" I asked, turning my head to her, seeing her smirk, her staring at me. "130 dead?"

"98," she said.

"With 33 missing," I said. "And it's been, what, sixteen hours now?"

"More or less."

"Okay, so 130 dead is what I have to prepare for," I said with a nod, putting my pants on. "Has Erlend really asked for assistance from the federal government?"

"Twice now," Eldritch said. "No response either time."

"When did he ask?"

"What times?" I nodded. "He first asked around four thirty this morning, again asked around noon. He figured that after no response the second time that they weren't going to do anything."

"Did he ask for anything specific?"

"He said any assistance they could offer would be appreciated. The Red Cross has set up operations for the injured and displaced."

"How many were there?"

"So far, sixty two were hurt, but most of those are from the Palace Apartments."

"How many rescue workers are dead or hurt?"

"Three died when the Palace came down, a handful were injured seriously enough to need hospital visits, all are accounted for."

"Could've been worse," I said as I pulled my shirt on and turned to sit down. "Who's been doing the press conferences?"

"Nancy's running most of them with Erlend stepping in once in a while."

"Nancy doing alright?"

"She's holding up."

"Don't give me that," I said, grimacing from the tightness in my back as I bent over to put my socks on. "She's probably better at it than I'll ever be."

"Roger Thompson slipped into a coma about an hour after he was taken into custody."

I stopped and slowly sat up, looking to Eldritch.

"He say anything about the rest of the group before he went under?"

"No, but his broken jaw may have accounted for that."

"I didn't break his jaw," I said, grabbing my shoes and leaning down again to put them on. "He was talking when I last saw him."

"Still," Eldritch said, "he's out cold and they don't know when he's going to wake up."

"How good is he otherwise?"

"Critical but stable."

"He's strong, he'll pull out of it," I said with a nod as I finished tying my shoes and sat back up. "Any luck on finding the others?"

"None that I know of. We have a list of names of who we think is involved."

"Do we know the exploding guy?"

"We think."

"Who is he?" I asked as I stood up and stretched again.

"Dean Williams," Eldritch said, "but you probably know him as Boombastic."

I froze.

"Son of a bitch," I said, sighing. "Are all of these fuckers people I've tangled with in the past?"

Eldritch was silent and I looked to her. She wouldn't meet my eyes.

"You have got to be shitting me."

"Simon Cooper, Roger Thompson, Dean Williams, you know them already," said Eldritch as she held out a finger for each, setting her mug down with her other hand. "The fast guy, Frank Sign, or Zoom Zoom."

"Shit," I said, sitting down, putting my head in my hands.

"The blonde girl we think is Tracy Pine who was last seen under the horrible name of CandyAss."

"CandyAss?" I asked, looking to Eldritch.

"Of the AssMasters."

"CandyAss?"

"The sixth one," continued Eldritch, holding up a single finger on her other hand, holding it up for me to see, "we can't quite pin down. Real name wise. But Erlend thinks it's Teapot."

"No shit," I said. "Fuck, why? Why the hell is this happening with people I dealt with?"

"Well, you probably weren't the only person to ever deal with them," said Eldritch as I stood up and began to pace. "I mean, didn't Victoria run into a few of them once?" I didn't answer, just thinking. "So they found a few more. Also there's the matter of your tactics that lends to this."

I stopped and glared at Eldritch over my shoulder.

"What about my tactics?"

"You leave them alive."

I couldn't argue with that.

"Another connection is that, well, clerical error seems to have put Simon and Frank into the same therapy sessions after they worked together on that attempted robbery Victoria stopped."

"They were let out of jail?"

"On probation."

"Why even that much?"

"Talk to Erlend about that."

"I will."

"So also in this therapy session was Tracy Pine. No one's sure how Roger or Teapot came into the picture, but we now think it was Simon, Frank and Roger that broke Dean out about six weeks back."

"Wait, what?"

"Dean Williams escaped after his police transfer convoy was attacked outside of the courthouse."

"Six weeks ago?" Eldritch nodded. "Why didn't I ever hear about this?"

"Don't you read the newspaper?"

"And no one followed up on it?"

"Who's supposed to follow up on it? The police think that the science heroes should handle the science villains and most science heroes think the police need to step up. So it fell through the cracks."

"Through the goddamn faultline," I said with a shake of my head. "That info's going to get out and we're going to have to explain why that happened on our watch. Shit, Erlend's policies are creeping up to bite him in the ass. Or, rather, this city in the ass."

"Would you like some coffee?" Eldritch asked.

"No," I said. "I need to get running."

"To do what?"

"My job," I said as I walked back to the futon and grabbed the gym bag.

"Which one?"

"Which one won't have every science hero in the city trying to beat the shit out of me?"

"Jeffery," Eldritch said, standing up, "we were only trying..."

"Don't," I said, holding up a hand to stop her. "You guys did it, I now know where you all stand. Fair enough."

I started to walk to the front door.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"What the hell do you think it means?"

"Jeffery, you were in no condition..."

"Not after you all were done with me, right. But you had no right to get in the way of..."

"We were looking out for you!"

"You need to be looking out for everyone else, Eldritch. That's why we're fucking here, to look over the city first, each other second."

"And when do you look after yourself, Jeffery? Last?"

"I was fine, goddamn it."

"Jeffery..."

"I have shit to do, Eldritch. Two jobs to do and a friend to check up on."

Something changed in her face with that. Oh my.

"Is that what this is about?" I asked.

"No," Eldritch said, glaring at me. "God forbid people care about you, Jeffery. God forbid they want you to take care of yourself."

"God forbid they let me be a big boy and make my own decision."

"Sometimes you make the wrong decisions, Jeffery."

"And if that wrong decision puts the lives of others at risk, by all means, step up and stop me, but if I'm only going to cause harm to myself, then for Christ's sake, let me learn from my mistakes."

"Go be a big boy then," said Eldritch, throwing up her hands in a show of defeat.

"Just keep in mind, Jeffery," she said as I turned to the door, getting me to look at her over my shoulder, "you're looking at a team made up of people you've met before, every last one, all associated, and there is certainly a connection between Simon and Cassandra that you should be concerned about."

"What connection?"

"That they worked together in the past."

"As civilians."

"And that you just happened to go to her apartment the same night he happened to break in. And that she happened to invite you to a function that was the first instance of these people popping up on the radar as a group."

"You think she's part of this?"

"I think that there are a lot of coincidences here that you just need to keep in mind, Jeffery. For your own sake."

"Should I also keep in mind that this friendly reminder is coming from what may not be an entirely unbiased source?"

"You take from it whatever you want, Jeffery," said Eldritch as she crossed her arms and continued to glare at me.

"Yeah," I said, opening her door and leaving it at that.

***

I waited patiently after knocking, head hung, trying to work out in my head what I was going to say, what I needed to say if anything.

Did I need to explain myself? Was it necessary or needed or expected?

Was she going to be pissed with me?

Was she even okay?

Cassandra Trellis opened the door and glared at me, her right hand on her hip as she just stood there and waited.

"Are you okay, Cass?" I asked

"Do I look okay?"

"You look pretty upset, but aside from that I can't tell."

"Are you okay, Jeffery?"

"A little tense and sore all over, but I think I'm okay."

She nodded and we both stood there, me out in the hallway, her with the door open, neither of us speaking for a few moments.

"Can I kiss you?" I asked, giving a weak smile.

"What makes you think you have any right to kiss me?" She smirked slightly and I knew she was okay.

"Because I ooze with charm."

"Huh," she said, standing there and I figured that was all I was going to get right now. "You might as well come inside."

I stepped in and she closed the door then turned to me and slapped me across the face.

"That's for this morning," she said.

"What about this morning?" I asked as I rubbed my cheek while she walked away. Not that it hurt, but, well, that's what you do when you're smacked.

"Where do I begin?" she asked as she reached her living room and spun to face me with a little flourish. "Coming over here like you did, not stopping to get yourself taken care of, leaving me like you did, disappearing for most of the day..."

"That last one was out of my control."

"Oh really?"

"I kinda had an accident and woke up about thirty minutes ago at Eldritch's."

"What kind of accident?" she asked, hands on her hips, perhaps a hint of displeasure in her voice.

"Well, after I finished with Thompson, Eldritch and Lin tried to beat me up and I ended up falling off a building and landing on my head. Or something like that."

"Landing on your head?" I nodded. "Are you normally that clumsy?"

"Well, the fight with Thompson wasn't exactly a walk in the park and then Eldritch coming at me like she did didn't help either, and, well..." I scratched my head and looked down. "Yeah, I'm normally pretty clumsy, but landing on my head is rare."

"So you just woke up?"

"More or less."

"Do you know what's been going on?"

"About 130 dead and missing, sixty some odd injured, the Mayor's asked for federal assistance twice with no results, and I've been advised by a doctor to take three days of bed rest."

"Are you going to?"

"I'm not in bed right now, am I?" I smiled so she'd know I was joking. She just gave me a smirk that called me a smartass.

"So the Mayor grilled me for about thirty minutes after you left," said Cass as she walked to her kitchen.

"She did what?" I followed.

"Questioned me about Simon, how I knew him, how well I knew him, why he was here earlier this week, things like that," she said as she opened a cabinet and pulled out a couple wine glasses.

"No thanks," I said as she set them down and reached for the wine.

"What?" She gave me a smile. "You said you were tense, this will help."

"Aspirin will help. And should you be drinking with a headwound?"

"It's a scratch, Jeffery. Besides, the pain pills they put me on says alcohol may amplify the effect, so since they aren't doing squat for my headache, I say amplify away."

I just smiled and shook my head.

"So, Anna questioned you?" I asked as I leaned against the fridge and watched her pour.

"Yes, and I didn't appreciate her tone," she said as she finished and handed me a glass. I nodded and said thanks.

I wasn't about to tell her Eldritch's warning. Not that I believed it, but just the same, what would it help?

"I'll talk to her," I said as she turned with her glass.

"Don't worry about it," she said. "I just wanted to give you a bit of grief over it."

"I'm more than happy to pass it along," I said as she held her glass up.

"So what shall we toast?" she asked.

"Living to fight another day," I said and we clinked glasses and drank.

"Oh," she said as she finished her sip and set her glass down on the counter.

"What?" I asked as she took my glass and set it down as well.

As soon as it was on the counter she was on me, nearly making me stumble back into the wall, her arms around my neck, her lips on mine. I wrapped my arms around her and went with the flow.

She pulled away after a few moments and gently put her forehead to mine, her breathing heavy and slow.

"That's for being okay," she said and I smiled.

"I need to be okay more often," I said.

We stayed like that for a bit and I kissed her again, on the lips but brief.

"I can't stay too long," I said.

"I figured as much," she said with a sigh and she brought her arms from around my neck and stepped away, turning to the glasses of wine and handing one back to me.

"I gotta go in and figure out what all's happened while I was gone."

"You don't need to make excuses, Jeffery. You take your job seriously. A little too seriously for someone who supposedly doesn't want it."

"I'd be doing the people a disservice if I did this half assed," I said as I stared into my wine glass, swirling its contents.

"So I've been meaning to ask," Cassandra said. "How do you know Emma Randolph?"

"Daggon's fiancé?" I asked, looking up to Cass who nodded while she took a sip. "She's the one that gave me the scars."

Cass nearly choked on her wine.

"Emma Randolph?" I nodded. "Did that?" I nodded. "How the hell did she pull that off?" she asked as she stepped past me and into the living room. I followed.

"You remember the Imperial Magistrate attack?" She gave me a look that said that was a stupid question. Which it was. "Well, when the Magistrate left, she forgot her sword. Which Emma, one way or another, got ahold of."

"And she stabbed you with it?"

"Twice."

"Why?"

"I was in her way, I guess," I said with a shrug.

"You guess?" I shrugged again. "So what are you going to do about it?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that you now know who she is, where she is. What are you going to do about it?"

"Nothing," I said, studying my wine again.

"Nothing?"

"What am I supposed to do?" I asked, looking to Cass. "I can't just barge in and beat her up. It's quite obvious to me after two encounters that I'm not quite in any position to do that.

"But, worse, she knows who I am, and THAT'S what I'm worried about."

"So what are you going to do about it?"

"I don't know yet," I said and I finished my wine. "But seeing her did answer a few questions."

"Like what?"

"Just what she's up to and all."

"Are you purposefully being vague or is there a reason?" asked Cass as she gave me a smirk and stepped toward me, practically against me.

"There's a reason," I said, leaning in and giving her a quick kiss. "I should go."

"Have you eaten anything today?" I didn't respond, which was response enough. "Have dinner first, Jeffery. Please."

"I'll grab something on the way," I said. "Really. I'll eat."

"Don't make me mother you."

"Please resist the urge," I said and I kissed her again.

"Call me later," she said as I stepped past her and toward the door.

"I will," I said as I opened the door and turned to her, gave her a wink and a smile. "Let me know if you need anything."

"Just be careful, Jeffery."

"I'll see what I can do."

I was outside on a rooftop, a cool breeze cutting through the air. I fished my mask out of my pocket and pulled it on, then unfolded the paper to see the address, as I walked to the edge of the roof to look around and get my bearings.

The address Anna wrote was right across the street.

Step Down Bar's door said they were closed, but the lights inside told me otherwise.

I balled up the paper and stood upright, taking a deep breath, as I glared at the bar across the way.

And then, I leapt off the roof and hit the street six floors below, sprinting as soon as I was balanced and throwing my shoulder into the door, tearing it off its hinges, and sending it crashing into the room beyond.

"Roger Thompson!" I shouted, as I looked around.

Empty. What the hell would he be doing in an empty bar?

The sudden punch to my jaw revealed Thompson's whereabouts.

I stumbled but stayed upright, spun only to be hit again, and stumbled back.

"Good to see you again, friend," said Roger Thompson with a big grin, fists up and ready to go.

"What, no 'I will kill you'?" I said, as I tried to get my bearings and map out the place, see what I had to deal with obstacle-wise.

This was his home turf. I was out of my element in here.

"Not yet," Thompson said, as he tried to close in on me. I stepped back. "Why do you step away?" he asked, flexing his fists. "Are you afraid?"

"Where's Simon?" I stepped back and sideways. We started circling each other, me trying to keep tables and chairs between us, as we went around, as I got a view of the entire room bit by bit.

"He's around."

"And, the exploding guy, where is he?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Because I want to find the sonofabitch. If you tell me where he is, I'll take it easy on you."

Thompson laughed.

"Your choice," I said, and I vaulted over the table between us and lashed out with my leg, getting Thompson right in the nose with the heel of my foot.

He stumbled back and into another table, bracing himself with one hand, while the other grabbed at his nose. I didn't give him time to do much else, slugging him in the gut and following up with another punch across his face.

I grabbed him by his shirt collar to keep him on his feet, pulling his face close to mine.

"Where are the rest of you guys?"

Thompson smiled and headbutted me, stunning me for a moment. Which was all he needed.

His punch into my chest was hard and knocked me off my feet and over a table, tumbling through a couple chairs and onto the floor on the other side. I got to my feet, just as he tossed the table out of the way and grabbed me by my throat.

And, he tossed me to the side, a jukebox breaking my fall.

"You used to fight better," Thompson said, as he made his way to me. "Perhaps you are having a bad day?"

He was close enough, so I lunged at him, trying to tackle him, but he grabbed my shoulders right before I hit him and brought his knee into my chest, then his elbow into my back, sending me sprawling on the floor.

"Or, perhaps I am better now," Thompson said, following up his statement with a stomp onto my back.

He laughed, as I started to get to my feet, one hand clutching at my back.

I got to my feet and clenched my fists, holding them out and ready.

"You might be better," I said. "But, you're sure as hell not good enough."

"Your banter used to be better too," said Thompson, his fists up and ready now too. "Must be a really bad day."

"Bring it."

He stepped forward and swung at me, a lumbering punch that was easy to dodge, which he knew. His other punch was faster, lower, and I fully expected it, knocking it to the side and coming around with a punch of my own that caught him in the jaw.

As he stumbled back, I came around with a kick in his gut and followed through a spin, brought the one foot down and the other up and right aside his head, sending him reeling.

He braced himself on a chair, as I came forward, but he was quick, brought the chair up and around, and broke it over my shoulder. He lunged at me and wrapped his hands around my neck, as he pushed me back and on top of a table.

"Simon says don't kill you," he said, as he squeezed my neck. "But, Simon's not here."

"Simon says a lot of things," I rasped.

I brought my lower arms up and slammed them together across his, feeling the popping in his arms more than I heard it. He shouted, as he let go and stumbled back, his arms falling limp which meant I'd gotten him good.

I was quick to my feet and on him, punching him first in the jaw, then coming around for a shot in the side of his chest.

"Where's the exploding guy?!!" I shouted, as I punched Thompson again upside the head, feeling something give. "Where is he, Roger?"

He spat blood and teeth at me and then grinned.

"Your fighting is okay," said Thompson with a nod. "You are better now too."

With a scream of rage, I threw myself at him and tackled him, the two of us tearing through the top of a table.

"Where is Simon?" I asked, as I lifted Thompson by his shirt collar. "Where are the rest of you?"

He started to laugh, and I head-butted him in the nose.

"Where are they?!"

"I do not know," said Thompson, and he laughed again.

I head-butted him again, thrusting the back of his head hard into the concrete floor.

That made him stop laughing.

"You're under fucking arrest," I said, standing, as he squirmed in pain.

I grabbed one of his legs and dragged the sonofabitch along the floor and across the room to where the front door had been. I stepped out to the scene of a bunch of police cruisers and cops standing ready, guns pointed right at me.

"Morning," I said, and I tossed Roger Thompson tumbling onto the sidewalk and into the street. "This man needs medical attention."

A couple of cops stepped forward and moved to Thompson, guns ready, making sure he was down. One of them turned and shouted for an EMT, while I just looked onto the scene.

"Who is he?"

I turned to the cop that had stepped up next to me.

"Roger Thompson. Has gone by Strongman in the past. He was with the group that attacked the Hilton earlier this evening. You'll probably be able to connect him to the Ferguson Place explosion eventually, but that's enough to start with."

"Yeah," said the cop. "Anyone else in there?"

"I don't know," I said, stepping away from the officer, away from the mess I'd made. "Do your job and go find out."

***

I got to the rooftops and started running.

I had gone about two blocks when I realized I wasn't alone. A white dog was running a few yards beside me, keeping up with each jaunt over an alley or a street, keeping pace on every flat surface I sprinted across.

Great.

I stopped suddenly in the middle of one roof, and the dog slid, as it tried to stop and turned. It stayed upright and came to me, just nudging my right hand where it dangled by my thigh. I rubbed the dog's head, as I looked for his owner.

Eldritch, where are you?

"Where are you heading, Jeffery?" I heard from behind me, and I spun to see her, as she came toward me across the roof.

"To Ferguson."

"It's under control," she said, as she stopped a few feet from me. "Go home."

"Who's there helping?"

"Emergency services are handling it, Jeffery."

"Where are the heroes?"

"Weren't you the one that wanted greater civilian involvement in police and rescue?"

"Greater but not sole," I said. "Not in something like this. We should be supplementing their work. Someone like me, with the strength to help..."

"You don't look like you're in much condition to help, Jeffery."

"I already got lectured by Anna tonight," I said "So unless you've got something new to say..."

"You need to rest, Jeffery. When's the last time you got any sleep?"

"Just because my mother's dead doesn't mean every woman in my life has the right to replace her!"

Eldritch glared at me, while we just stood there and held each other's gazes.

"I'm a big boy, Eldritch. And, I can help those people."

"It's under control, Jeffery."

"People are dying."

"People die everyday, Jeffery. That's what we do. We grow old and die. Or die trying."

I turned from Eldritch and started to run, almost at the point of jumping when the damn dog suddenly was in front of me and between my legs, tripping me, sending me sprawling on the roof and sliding to the edge.

"Goddamn it, Eldritch!" I shouted, as I got to my knees and spun to face her, only for her foot to collide with the side of my head, turning me around and sending me over the edge of the building.

I hit the pavement head first and hard. By the time I struggled to my hands and feet, Eldritch had made it off the roof and towards me.

I staggered a bit, as I stood, and she kept coming.

"Stay down, Jeffery," she said, as she came.

"Why, Eldritch?" I asked, trying my damnedest not to cry, raising my fists weakly, knowing I was in no condition to do much of anything anymore.

Damn it.

She got to me and pushed my hands out of her way.

"Time to go home, Jeffery," she said, and she tried to come down with a chop on my neck, but I moved an arm up to stop her.

"I have to help them, Eldritch," I said, stepping back, away, trying to get some distance, trying to get rid of this vertigo that messed with my head.

"You're in no condition to help, Jeffery," Eldritch said. "Please, don't make this any harder..."

"Why are you attacking me?" I pleaded, feeling the tears on my cheeks, no longer caring. "Why is everyone so dead-set against me doing what needs to be done?"

I heard something behind me, feet on the pavement, and I turned around quick. Too quick, as my head swam, and I stumbled, staggered, fell onto my ass, as I stared at Lin Tsang Hsia, the current Silver Shadow, in full regalia, staring back at me with her arms crossed.

I scrambled to my feet, nearly fell again but held it straight, looking from Lin to Eldritch and back, trying to figure out just what was going on. Just what I was going to do.

"You guys want to stop me?" I asked, as I widened my legs for more balance, a stronger stance. I looked Eldritch dead in the eyes. "Then, it's going to be the hard way."

I clenched my fists and held them up, waiting, trying to keep both of them in my peripheral vision.

Lin shifted to a ready fighting stance. Eldritch just stood there and tried again to talk me down.

"Jeffery, please..."

Forget this.

I broke into a sprint straight ahead, ignoring the throbbing of my head, the aching of my body, sizing up the building that was right in front of me. Five stories tall. I can make that.

I jumped hard into the air.

Five stories up.

I made it with plenty to spare, landing about a third of the way across the roof and running, leaping, clearing the next building entirely, the street beyond, and hitting the next roof running, jumping, high, far, and well before I gauged what I was jumping toward.

A telephone wire caught me in the chest, tensing and sending me back, turning my fall into a slight spin that had me land on a roof on my shoulders and the back of my neck, the rest of my body wanting to move in a direction the solid roof prevented, making me fold in a way I probably wasn't supposed to.

I tumbled across the rooftop, past the edge, and fell to the alley below.

I don't care how invulnerable or strong someone is, a fall like that is going to take a lot out of you.

I laid on the alley floor, my legs propped on top of the crushed trash cans they landed on, staring at the sky, as I tried to fight off the darkness that crept into my vision.

Why wouldn't they just let me save those people?

I passed out before I could wallow too much in my own failure.

Nancy Meyers rode in the elevator with me, neither of us saying a word, as we waited for the three floors to go by. As soon as the doors opened, I gestured for her to step off first, but she shook me off, so I went.

"Hold my calls, Miss Meyers," I said with a groan, as I struggled to take my suit coat off, my body tense, a sharp pain in my lower back spreading up my spine, as my arms moved. "If anyone's looking for me, I'm taking a nap or in with a doctor or something."

"And, where are you going, Mister Carter?"

I stopped and looked over my shoulder at her, as I unbuttoned my shirt with one hand, while the other pulled my tie off.

"I'm going over to Ferguson to help."

"You have a press conference..."

"In an hour and a half," I said, as I took my shirt off, as I stepped into my office. I started to somewhat fold it neatly when I noticed red on the back.

"Shit," I muttered. I tried to twist to look at my back, but pain and basic body structure prevented me from doing that much.

"I believe that you'd be better off staying here and actually seeing a doctor, Mister Carter."

"People need my help," I said, as I headed towards the washroom where I had left my old torn and tattered clothing from earlier in the evening.

"There are plenty of people already there."

I stopped at the washroom door and looked at Nancy.

"No one like me," I said.

"They will notice your coming and going," Nancy said, as I went into the washroom and grabbed my old pants. "You are risking a lot by going out there, Mister Carter."

"I have to do something, damn it!" I shouted, my fists clenched around my pants.

"You are doing something," said a new female voice, one I knew well.

Anna Romanova stood in the center of my office, lighting a cigarette.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, storming out of the washroom and past Nancy who had turned and headed for the door. "You're supposed to be out there..."

"Too many people, Jeffery," said Anna, as she blew out a plume of smoke. "You'd just be in the way."

"I'm going," I said, as I stopped near Anna, close enough to put my face in her cloud of cigarette smoke.

"You have a job to do here."

"Saving lives out there is more important than dancing like a monkey in here."

"Your work here is saving lives, Jeffery," said Anna, resting the hand that held her cigarette on my shoulder.

"You give the press conferences if they're so important."

I shrugged off her hand and went to my desk, throwing open one of the bottom drawers and digging under folders, emerging with a mask.

"If I'm not back in time, tell them I saw a doctor, needed treatment, something like that; it's plausible, given what happened."

"And, what if they draw a correlation between Jeffery Carter disappearing and Bush43 appearing?" asked Anna, no smile, no smirk, as she stared right at me.

"They're already trying to say I'm one of the New Mages," I said, as I went to the washroom again. "It'll be nothing new."

"Jeffery..."

"I'm going, Anna," I said from the doorway of the washroom. "I caused that shit. The least I can do is try and get people out of it."

She opened her mouth to say something, but I continued.

"And, you're probably going to get phone calls or offers from the national government for assistance. I say take it. Or, better yet, you should call them first and ask for it."

I partially closed the door for a bit of privacy and started to take off my good, clean pants, a task that was an effort in and of itself, given the cuts and bruises all over.

"And, why would I do that?" Anna asked.

"Because this is a huge deal, Anna, and we're technically still part of the country. This is the type of event that would pull international attention."

"We don't need their help," Anna said, and I looked up to see her right in the doorway, staring right at me with my pants off, still no smirk, still smoking.

"If you ask, they can't say no."

"And since I don't want them here..."

"Anna, we need to turn to the national government on this," I said, as I put on my old pants. "Not only do they have the personnel and equipment to help, but it would go a long way to legitimizing your administration. Put them in the hot seat, Anna. Put them in a corner and force them to acknowledge you as the Mayor of this city." I pulled my belt through my pants loops, while I stared at Anna. "And, show to the people that you aren't some dictator, that you're working within a system they know very well and have lived with for years. Show them that they're still Australians."

I sighed and waited for a response, getting none, just Anna staring at me.

"Call them, Anna," I said. "Meanwhile, I'm going to dig these people out."

"They will ask about you, Jeffery. They will connect the dots."

"And, I'm willing to risk that, Anna, if it means saving at least one of those people. I have to fix this."

She waited, stared, then nodded and stepped out of the washroom and into my office. I looked at myself in the mirror and sighed again.

"You should check in on your girlfriend," said Anna from the other room.

"What?" I asked, looking to the doorway and finding that I was now looking down a hallway.

I looked right in front of me to see a door, 1109 in silver right at eye level.

"Son of a bitch," I said, taking a step back, closing my eyes, taking a deep breath.

Once again, I was directed. Once again, I was moved. Once again, someone else was in control of my life.

I opened my eyes and took another deep breath, crammed the mask clenched in my hand in my pocket, and rang the doorbell.

It took her about half a minute before she opened the door, clutching her robe closed with one hand, while the other pulled the door open.

"Jeffery," she said, and we practically fell into each other, a quick hug that she pulled out of, so she could cram her lips onto mine.

We broke apart as sloppily as we came together and locked eyes.

"Are you okay?" I said, my hand drifting up to push loose hair from over the bandage on her forehead.

"I'm fine," she said, grabbing my hand, pulling it down and smiling at me. "I saw you on television. Are you okay?"

"No worse for wear," I said with a small smirk. "Whatever that means. I was on the TV?"

"Come in," she said, stepping back and aside for me.

"I have to get going," I said.

"You can give me two minutes," she said, giving me a stern look mixed with a smirk.

"Cass, people are buried alive out there," I said, turning slightly to gesture down the hall as if it were the outside world. "I've got to..."

"Christ, Jeffery," she said, her hands quickly on my shoulders, completely turning my back to her.

I had forgotten about my back.

"It's nothing," I said, trying to turn around.

"Bullshit, it's nothing," she said, holding tight, keeping my back to her.

She grabbed the bottom of my shirt and pulled it up, as I tried again to turn around, but she kept me straight.

"Damn it, Jeffery, you have to do something about that."

"I'll be fine," I said. "I have to go."

"Not like that you won't."

"It doesn't even hurt," I said.

"There's glass still in it," she said.

"I'm fiiiin--ah--shit!"

I jumped forward and spun on Cass, as she brandished a glistening sliver of glass, nice and red with me.

"There is glass still in your back, Jeffery," she said, grabbing my arm and practically dragging me into her apartment, closing the door behind her. "You're not going anywhere until we clean you up. God, look at your arms," she said, lifting the arm she had a grip on she could study it.

Scratches, cuts, all fresh, all pointless right now.

I jerked my arm away.

"It's fine," I said. "I have to get going. I'm needed..."

"You need to take care of yourself."

"After I get those people out of that rubble."

"Jeffery..."

"Cass, I..."

"Would you shut up and let me talk?" she snapped, another glare, this one without the smirk. There was an angry pause before she continued.

"There is nothing you can do down there right now, Jeffery." I opened my mouth to protest. "Nothing!" she restated, shutting me up. "I don't care how strong you are, I don't care how brave you are, I don't care about whatever responsibility you feel for this thing; there is nothing you can do."

"I can try," I said softly through clenched teeth.

"Try and what? Try and hurt yourself? Get yourself killed?"

I closed my eyes and hung my head, clenching my teeth, trying to stay calm, trying to make sense of it all.

"Why won't anyone let me do this?" I muttered more to myself, but she heard.

"Jeffery," said Cass, gently touching my cheek. "You aren't the only one who can help. Let someone else handle this. You need to take care of yourself. When's the last time you slept?"

I didn't have an answer for her there because I couldn't remember.

"If you can't take care of yourself, how are you going to take care of anyone else?"

"People are dying..."

"And, you don't need to kill yourself over it, Jeffery. You can't save everyone."

I opened my eyes and looked up into hers.

"I can try."

She slowly pulled her hand away and shook her head, then put her hand to it, near the cut.

"Cass, are you all right?"

"I'm sorry," she said, and I guided her around the couch and helped her sit down. "I'm all right. They said I'd probably get dizzy once in a while for the next day or so. I'm okay, Jeffery. Let's get you..."

"No," I said. "You need to lay down or something."

"Jeffery, I can take care of myself."

"Cass, let me..." I stopped myself from finishing my sentence, knew what I'd be committing to, and wondered if this was a trick.

She looked to me and smirked, despite the tears.

"Go save the world, Jeffery."

"Cass," I said, crouching down to her eye level, taking her hands in mine, trying to get her to look at me. "What's wrong?"

"I thought they were going to kill you, Jeffery. In that room, in front of all of those people, I thought they were going to kill you."

"I wouldn't have let it get that far."

"You let that happen to you?" she asked, looking at me, glaring at me.

"Well, not exactly, but, I mean, I was holding back. I let myself get cut, yeah, but overall I wasn't really trying. I didn't want to give anything away."

"But, you disappearing from your job when you're needed most to put on your mask and go somewhere else--that's not too risky? That's not giving something away?"

"There are lives at stake."

"There were lives at stake at the Hilton, Jeffery."

"Yes, but..."

"And, if you hadn't had held back there, maybe Ferguson wouldn't have happened. If you hadn't held back against these people so many times in the past, Jeffery, maybe a lot of things wouldn't have happened."

"Where is this coming from, Cass?"

"Jeffery," she said, pulling one hand from mine, caressing my cheek. "You're too good for all of this."

"Cass," I said, reaching up to grab her hand, hold it, keep her attention. "What are you trying to say?"

"She's trying to say what I've been telling you for months now, Jeffery."

I spun around to see Anna Romanova standing in Cassandra's apartment, no cigarette, no smirk, hands in her pockets.

"If you had fully taken care of these people in the past, people would not be dying in the present."

"Are you blaming..."

"Just observing, Jeffery. And, since you're intent on destroying yourself this evening, here's your chance to redeem yourself in the process."

Anna pulled a folded slip of paper out of her pocket and held it out to me.

"This is where you will find Roger Thompson, a gentleman you knew at Strongman. He is a member of the group that attacked the Hilton this evening."

"Big European guy," I recalled, as I stood and took the paper from Anna.

"I do not know how long he will be there, so you had better hurry."

I looked to Cass who was now looking at her feet, choppily breathing from crying.

I looked back to Anna.

"Have you given the police this information?"

"You are the only other person to know."

"Then, tell them."

"Jeffery, this is something you..."

"Tell them, so they can clean up when I'm done with the sonofabitch."

Anna cracked a smirk at that.

"You've been teleporting me all over town tonight," I said, as I held up the slip she handed me. "Can you get me here?"

"Consider it done, Jeffery."

I looked from the phone to the front door and hesitated.

What the hell was going on?

I hung up the phone and walked to the door, slowly and quietly unlocking it, then opening it a crack to peek out.

The hall was dark, except for a single light at the end with a man standing under it, dressed in black, only now without the mask.

He wasn't Simon, but he was still familiar. I just couldn't put my finger on why.

"Little pig, little pig, let me in," the man taunted down the hall, and I opened the door and stepped out.

"I thought you wanted me to come out?" I said, as I stepped into the hallway, glancing down to the other end to see if anyone else was around.

No one. We were alone.

The guy shrugged.

"Fair enough. So, you're Bush43, huh? You seemed bigger when we last met."

"This suit's slimming," I said, clenching my fists, planting my feet, bracing myself.

"So, how many people do you think are in this building right now?" the man asked, looking around the hall, as he gestured wide, to the building, all to emphasize his question. "I mean, ten floors, eight apartments on each, half and half between one and two bedroom places, ninety percent occupied, give me a rough estimate."

I narrowed my eyes and waited.

"You're not so much with the small talk tonight, are you?"

"What do you want?"

"We're just making a statement, Jeffery," said the man with a smile. "I'd say there are close to a hundred and ten people in this building right now. Give or take.

"So, let's say there was an explosion here on the sixth floor, right where I'm standing, next to one of the support pillars," he patted the wall behind him. "The four floors above coming down on the others, that'd probably flatten the whole building, right? And, at the angle the top floors are coming down, you might have a bit of slide into the place next door, nice brick structure with twice as many apartments. Man, there could be a hell of a lot of damage done to that building while this came down. One hell of a mess, let me tell you.

"You'd be just fine, though, wouldn't you?"

He smiled wider with a pause, letting that hang for a bit before he continued.

"How long would it take for you to dig yourself out?"

"You willing to kill yourself to find out?" I asked.

"I can't really explain it," said the man, as he looked into the palms of his hands, studied them as if he'd find answers there. "But, I seem to come out on top of these things."

He looked back up to me and shrugged.

"One of life's great mysteries."

He put his hands behind his back, breathed deep, and straightened himself up, giving me a short, crisp nod.

"I'll see you on the other side, Bush," he said.

I charged at him.

I'd taken all of three steps before he blew up.

The blast caught me and threw me back down the hall, into the far wall and through it, pushing me through the wall of a building across the alley next door. I tumbled down a hallway and came to a stop about halfway down, dust and debris blowing past me, clouding the hall, filling my lungs.

I pushed myself to my hands and knees and felt the building rumble and shake. I tried to get to my feet but stumbled, collapsed and fell, laying there, trying to breathe, trying to get some air into my lungs, some feeling back into my body other than this pain.

Get up, Jeffery.

Get up.

People are dying right now because you're laying on the goddamn floor.

I groaned and clenched my teeth, as I got to my feet, starting to move down the hall, through the fog, towards the hole I had made.

"Jeffery," I heard behind me, and I spun and tried to plant my feet, losing my footing, slapping my hand on the wall for support and to stay upright.

Erlend Romanov stepped through the flickering lights and dust, as he came down the hall towards me.

"Help me, Erlend," I said. "We have to get them..."

"You are done here, Jeffery," Erlend said, no smirk, no smarm, just a sad glare, his hands buried deep in his pockets.

"No," I said, shaking my head. "There are people out there who need our help. We have to help them."

"You are in no condition to continue, Jeffery. You are of more use back at City Hall."

"THERE ARE PEOPLE DYING!" I shouted, nearly lunging at Erlend but stopping because I couldn't keep myself upright.

I fell, caught myself on my hands and knees, coughed, hacking up dirt and dust and blood.

Blood.

Erlend rested a hand on my shoulder.

"You are not the only hero in this city, Jeffery," he said, and I closed my eyes, trying my damnedest not to scream, not to lunge at him, not to cry. "Go clean up. You have a city to address."

His hand was gone. I lifted my head and opened my eyes.

"Erlend, I..."

I stopped, as I found myself in my office at City Hall.

I stayed there on my hands and knees, jaw dropped in mid-sentence.

I lowered my head, closed my eyes again, clenched my teeth and tried my best not to scream.

A knock on my door got my attention, and I looked up and over to see it open, Nancy Meyers on the other side, a fresh suit hanging from her hand.

"You have a press conference in an hour, Mister Carter," she said, her face unreadable as usual.

"People are dying, Miss Meyers," I said from my place on the floor.

"And, those that aren't need reassurances that they won't, Mister Carter."

She walked in and past me, laid the suit across the back of a chair in front of my desk, and then turned and walked past me again, stopping in the doorway.

"There are fresh towels in your washroom, Mister Carter. If you need any medical assistance, please let me know; I can have a doctor here shortly."

"Thank you, Miss Meyers," I said, looking to the floor, studying the carpet. "But, I'll be fine."

"Of course you will, Mister Carter."

And, she closed the door behind her.

***

I squinted, as I stepped into the press room, the bright lights silhouetting the crowd that awaited my arrival. I was surprised at the number of people in the room at three in the morning, at the number of new faces, at the number of foreign journalists eager to hear what I had to say.

I dreaded to hear what they had to ask.

I visibly winced, as I stepped up to the podium, not meaning to, not wanting to show any signs of pain or weakness, not here, not in front of these sharks.

Blood in the water.

Fresh meat.

"Good morning," I said, clearing my throat, taking a drink of water while a few reporters returned my greeting. I blinked, as my eyes tried to adjust to the light, took a deep breath, as I tried to adjust to my role.

Stay strong, Jeffery.

Hold it together.

"I'm sure that while you are all eager to hear what City Hall has to say on tonight's events, many of you have probably had just as long a night as I, so I'd like to keep this as brief as possible.

"I want to start by saying our thoughts and prayers go out those affected by this tragedy."

I paused and cleared my throat, looked down at the podium for a moment and collected myself.

"There are very few details available on both attacks, as it has only been a few hours since the series began. Given that, the police and City Hall are unable to confirm at this time whether the two events are related. The investigation has just begun at the PC Hilton and any investigation into the bombing of the Ferguson Place apartment building will have to wait until rescue operations are complete."

"Mister Carter," shouted someone from the back of the room, an unfamiliar face but someone who probably knew the game better than I. "Where is the Mayor right now?"

"Mayor Romanov, as well as a few of the city's science heroes, is currently helping in rescue operations at Ferguson."

"And, where were the Mayor and the city's science heroes during the attack on the PC Hilton?"

"While the attack on the PC Hilton may have felt like an eternity to some of us, it in actuality occurred in just over three minutes. Unfortunately, the response time was a little longer than that, but thankfully injuries were few and minor. Miss Wilson?" I said, pointing out the reporter from the PC Globe, trying to regain control of this press conference.

"First question," she said, locking eyes with me. "How are you?"

"I'm fine all things considered, Miss Wilson; thank you."

"Second question: after the attack on PC Hilton and you personally, you left the building in quite a hurry, especially given your condition. Where did you go?"

"I came here, Miss Wilson."

People started to shout out other random questions, and I held up my hands quick.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm afraid I will not be addressing any further questions about my personal involvement in this evening. Like I said, I would like to keep this brief and on topic as to City Hall's reaction to the events. Yes?" I said, pointing to another lady in the back, another unfamiliar person.

"Are there any estimates on casualties in the Ferguson Place bombing?"

"The police have not released any numbers at this time, but, as I've said, it is early in rescue operations, and I am sure emergency services will have more information as the morning goes on."

"Any estimate on the number of occupants in the building?"

"All I can say for certain is that it was an eighty unit complex split evenly between one and two bedroom apartments. How many were occupied at the time, I do not know and again is something that will probably be known as the morning goes on."

I pointed to someone else.

"What leads you to suspect that these two events may be related?"

"We do not believe them to be related at this time..."

"But you suspect enough to say that?"

"No, the press has begun speculating on whether or not the two are related, and I was simply addressing that upfront. Like I had said, though, at this time, there is no evidence that these two are related."

"Mister Carter, did you know your assailants at PC Hilton?"

"I have already said that I will not be addressing any questions concerning my involvement in tonight's..."

I paused, as Nancy Meyers emerged from the side door and came to me at the podium. I covered the mic, as she leaned close to my ear and held up a folder to cover what she was saying from the crowd.

"The Palace Apartments just partially collapsed," she said, and I stepped back a bit further from the podium.

"Next door?" I asked.

"Yes, sir."

"Was anyone inside?"

"They were in the process of evacuating the structure but aren't certain if they had gotten everyone out. There were also rescuers in Ferguson who may now be trapped in the rubble."

I closed my eyes and hung my head.

"Mister Carter," said Meyers, getting my attention again. "You are being watched."

I nodded.

"Thank you, Miss Meyers."

I turned back to the podium and stepped up, noticing a couple people on their cell phones, probably receiving the same information I just had.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have just been informed that the Palace Apartments located next door to Ferguson Place has partially collapsed." I paused to let them write that or comment on it to themselves and each other. "I'm afraid I don't have any more information either on this recent development or on any of tonight's events, but there will be another press conference at five this morning where we will cover any developments and new information. I would like to keep an every two hours schedule for updates so you all can get the information you need.

"I ask that you all please keep the families of the residents and rescuers in your prayers."

I stepped away from the podium and turned to Nancy who stood just off to the side.

"Could you please get Tina Wilson for me? I'll be just outside."

"Yes, sir," she said, and then she went into the crowd of reporters, as I stepped into the hall beside the press room and closed the door behind me.

I crossed the hall and leaned against the wall, pressing my forehead against it, taking deep breaths, trying to force the pain and tension out of my body, trying not to think about what all had gone wrong tonight.

Everything that had gone wrong tonight.

I heard the door open behind me, and I straightened up and turned around to see Nancy leading Tina Wilson into the hall, the door closing behind them.

"You wanted to see me?" Wilson looked impatient and somewhat upset that I had pulled her away from going to file her story.

"Do you know how Cassandra's doing?"

Her face relaxed a little, and she cleared her throat.

"She's fine," Wilson said, and I sighed. "Just a cut on her forehead. They treated her at the scene and sent her home."

"Okay," I said, nodding, relieved, feeling some of the tension leaving my body.

"How are you, Mister Carter?" she asked.

"On the record, I'm fine, Miss Wilson," I said. "I'm very worried for those people in the apartment buildings.

"Off the record, I should probably see a doctor sooner rather than later." I gave her a forced smile and hoped she figured I was joking. I couldn't tell if she did or not.

"So, you haven't seen a doctor yet, Mister Carter?" Always the reporter.

"I'll let you get to your story, Miss Wilson," I said. "Thank you for the update on Cassandra."

"You should call her, Jeffery," Wilson said. "She's probably worried about you."

I nodded and hung my head for a moment, taking a deep breath and looking back to Wilson.

"I'll do that. Thank you."