SSV3 Chapter 15 (Patreon)

I had been back at the bureau for less than a minute, pondering the level of dust that had accumulated on my bookshelf, when my door flew open.

“Explain this!” Taylor, Rocksolid’s manager, threw her tablet down. It smacked hard enough against my desk that I was worried that the device would snap in two.

I already knew what I would see, but I pretended to be looking for the first time.

On the screen, there was a clear picture of Melody outside the smashed convenience store.

“That looks like Melody, but she hasn’t shown up for work the last two days.” I leaned back with a sigh. “She did that?” I did my best to keep myself calm.

“Fuck you. I know you are sleeping with her. What’s going on?” Taylor demanded. The woman had become a manager, more of a nod to her old days as a super rather than for her ability to manage. Then again, she had an outstanding track record with her teams. Maybe I had just caught her on a bad day.

I held up my hands. “She’s been troubled ever since the monster fruit. She broke up with me.” I lied, wincing at the lie. Lying was unproductive, but I had to in this instance.

To keep her protected, the BSH needed to believe the lie. I needed to distance myself from her.

“Why the fuck are you so calm?!” Taylor looked like she was about to fling everything off my desk. Instead, she just panted angrily at me. “She just smashed in two stores and tussled with Rocksolid. You need to bring her in.”

I held my hands up. “It’s a little more complicated than that.”

“You’re her fucking manager. If she’s made a flip like this, it is on you for not taking care of her. I’m going to go to Kim. She needs to be part of this conversation.” Taylor huffed and pushed off my desk, taking her tablet with her and storming out.

I paused for a moment, taking a few deep breaths to prepare myself, then I got up to follow her.

Kim was going to dismiss the issue. She was in on all of it, after all. But we had to put on a show.

“Director. Look at this. This is the deputy’s own hero.” Taylor stabbed at the tablet with her finger as if the blown up image of Melody didn’t give Kim a hint as to where to look.

“It looks like her director. We’ve been out of contact for two days.” I said, walking in and closing the door before the nosier people in the office poked their heads around the corner.

“Do you really think she’d do something like this?” Kim asked.

I had to give her credit; she was a wonderful actor. Which, surprisingly, didn’t make me feel better. Not after some of the issues with Beatrix.

“I don’t know. She’s been unstable ever since the monster fruit.” I sat down in a chair and hung my head in my hand. “We brought her through the doctors and the therapists, but she’s been spiraling.” I could act too.

Taylor looked back and forth between the two of us. “That’s it? No outrage? Why is he even still working here? His hero took fucking monster fruit.”

“She was called back into the field after he already prescribed her unfit for duty during the prison break.” Kim steepled her finger. “So some of this blame lies with me. Should I step down too, Taylor?”

The hero manager’s jaw became tense as she held back her words, speaking up a moment later. “She killed someone. The fuck happens to people when they use Monster Fruit?”

“We still don’t quite know.” I said from my chair. “The mad scientists are working it out. But basically a second organism grows in the human body before melding with the existing super. It changes them on a cellular level.”

I leveled my eyes on the manager. “If you were ever thinking about it, don’t.” We didn’t want anyone taking monster fruit, not until we understood it better. Melody could become a cautionary tale at the BSH if needed.

Taylor’s face scrunched up, and she wanted to fight, I could tell. But she was also standing in Kim’s office, and she knew better than to piss Kim off.

The manager took one look at Kim, realized she wasn’t going to do anything about Melody, and threw her hands up. Turning, she stormed out of the office.

Once the door shut, Kim scowled at me. “What the fuck was the jewelry store today? Is she rogue?”

“No. You saw the report about the vigilante?” I changed it to our other problem.

Kim shook her head. “No. I just saw this.” She turned on a TV in her office. The remote had been right next to where she was sitting when Taylor had entered, so I assumed it was what she’d been watching before we entered.

There was a news crew interviewing one clerk who was going on and on about the purple-skinned monster of a villain.

I reached over her desk and turned it off. “Enough of that. When she smashed up the convenience store, a weak super showed up. I think they were some sort of vigilante. She blasted them, thinking they were the prop that Pratt set up.”

Kim swore. “You’re fucking kidding me. She killed her?”

I nodded. “She was a wreck. We were in contact, and I had already been looking up lower morality targets. The jewelry store is mob owned. I let her go after that to distract her and give her a win.”

Kim nodded along. “Is she okay? Is she backing out?”

“No, I think she’ll be okay. But that was a shit start.” I sat back in the chair. “Got any of that whiskey?”

Kim snorted. “None for you. I’m having a great day.”

I raised an eyebrow, waiting for her to elaborate. “And?”

“Nothing. I’m allowed to have good days. Soon, I’ll unveil my Void summoning device, and then hopefully I can talk to him and work out this contract that Hendricks wants from him. Have you seen it?”

I shook my head. “No. I really doubt Void will sign a contract.”

Kim swiped at her tablet and then turned it around for me to read. “Lots of legalese, but basically a treaty. Void and anyone he represents won’t go into all out conflict with the city or the BSH. She also wants his assistance if there is another titan, in return for a large sum of money if a titan shows up.”

I scoffed. “Might as well ask him to go to the new city and fight Cerberus again.”

I tried to subtly plant the idea. I was feeling more and more uneasy about Melody going to the city; I would love to help her.

Kim frowned. “Would he really want to go?”

“Who knows? He might want to take a chunk out of Cerberus for fighting him over the prison. If I were him, I’d want a rematch.” I suggested.

Kim nodded, her fiery red hair bobbing along with her. “Let me see what the lawyers could spin up. What should we offer him for something like that?”

I had to suppress the urge to frown. She was treating me like the local expert on Void, but there wasn’t any reason I would know him any better than her. She’d met him far more times.

I searched her eyes for any hint of subterfuge, but all I saw was curiosity.

“Money works for a lot of people. But I think he’s been quite guarded about his identity, so he’ll probably be suspicious about the money being tracked…” I trailed off, opening the door for Kim to come up with the idea herself.

“Precious gems are even easier to track, so those are out. We could try to offer to protect his identity… but that’s pretty impossible. I’m not quite sure what we could offer besides some gold or silver as payment.” She struggled through what to offer Void.

I’d just have to spell it out for her. “Maybe a media blackout like you give the heroes that don’t want the spotlight?”

“Oh. OH!” Kim’s eyes went wide. “That’s perfect.” She slapped her forehead. “This is why I ask you these things. I don’t think like a guy well enough.”

I paused, eying her again. The topic wasn’t really something gender specific.

But I let it drop, standing up from my chair.

“Hey, Miles.” Kim stopped me, her tone so gravely serious that I paused. “What do you think the odds are that Void has a girlfriend?”

I nearly choked.

“Kim, be serious. I thought you were about to tell me something important.”

She got a little bratty with me. “This is serious. I wonder if my womanly charms would work on him.”

“Well, good luck. I’m not going to be a part of that one.” I changed the topic. “By the way, what’s the deal with Mickey Hills? You discussed a treaty with Void. Is that something similar to what he has?”

Kim calmed down. “No. Not at all. There are no formal agreements between him and the city. It’s more of an unspoken agreement. As long as he stays to drugs, prostitution and other seedy, but minor crimes, then we won’t go after him. Sometimes it’s better to have known players that keep their wits about them than some crazy unknown.”

I nodded. “Say we take Mickey Hall out of the picture with a few heroes today. Tomorrow there will be someone else selling drugs, but they might not be so civil about it. They might cut in all sorts of dangerous chemicals, bringing in a tide of crime as they take over.”

The director leaned back in her chair. “By taking out Mickey, we increase the crime rate of our city several fold overnight.”

“Got it. So Mickey is a decent person?” I asked.

But she shook her head. “We don’t know Mickey that well. It’s just a political thing. If I went for him, it would make Hendricks look bad for a year or two as her opponent would point out all the rise in crime. Even then, there would just be another to take over those sorts of things.” She shrugged. “No matter how hard you try, drugs and prostitution will always occur. It just seems to be part of human nature at this point.”

I nodded along. “Why not just make them legal so you can regulate them?”

She held up her hands. “Above my pay grade. I don’t make laws, just enforce them.” She shuddered. “Politics. Eew.”

I smiled at that. “Fine. Good luck wooing Void, and think about that media blackout. I’d bet he’d go for that one.”

“Bye.” Kim waved me out as I left her office, the door closing behind me.

***

As soon as Miles was gone, Kim slumped into her chair. “Fuck. I need a drink.” She opened that bottom drawer and glared at the bottle for a second before closing the drawer. “Guys don’t like women who are drunk all the time.”

Kim slapped her cheeks several times and blew out a breath before getting back to work.

Beatrix had confirmed her part of the plan, but there was a hitch. She said she couldn’t research him on the mainframe anymore.

“Great. He’s on guard. Even if she thinks she did this right, she’s a lousy liar. So we had to let her lie enough to get caught and give him a false story. He still didn’t buy it completely.” Kim bit at her nail. “But the plan is still on. I’m going to fucking prove if you are Void or not, Miles Mathers.”

Rather than her bottom drawer, Kim went to her top drawer and pulled out the sketch of Miles Matherson, staring at it. “There’s just no fucking way this is a coincidence.”

***

I walked through the office, eyes on me every step of the way.

They all believed I’d been chewed out for Melody, especially with the way Taylor was probably going around the office making a fuss.

I checked the time. It was still about two hours before we went out on patrol and almost time for my appointment.

I had been thinking about the power I needed with Wells’ project, and if Obsidian agreed, I could put it in play.

Stepping out of the offices, I went to leave the bureau, scooping up some clay from the small river as I walked over the bridge.

I wrapped light around it, making the small ball of clay invisible as I continued on to my old marketing offices. It wasn’t a far walk, and I enjoyed the city’s bustling along the way.

Supers flew overhead as most of the people walked along the sidewalk, heading to offices or lunch.

Finally, I got to the office building that used to be so familiar.

Bertha was there, her arms crossed. “Long time no see. Would have thought you’d at least come by once to say goodbye.” She huffed and turned her head. “Men.”

“Good to see you, too.” I ignored her and headed into the office..

The area was exactly the same as I remembered it. But somehow, I no longer fit. I’d changed.

Rather than getting smiles back as I walked in with a smile on my face, there was a slight pensiveness as they struggled to place me.

After only a month out of the job, I was a stranger to everyone. They’d moved on with their lives.

Cramming into the elevator with others, I waited as others joined and badged to their floor. I no longer had a badge, but I knew what floor I needed.

Somebody luckily hit the button, and I rode along with them to the marketing office, tailgating them out of the elevator and through the large glass doors.

“Huh?” The receptionist frowned at me, trying to place me.

“Miles, from the BSH. I have a meeting with Candice.” I showed off my tablet and the logo of the BSH came up, swirling a ring around their logo.

“Oh. Yes. I’ll let her know you are here.” The receptionist hurried to make the call.

I wasn’t positive about how I’d be received, but I thought Candice would be happy. She was always so receptive to the BSH when I’d worked for her.

Part of me hated her, the other part felt sorry for her. She’d given her life to work and gotten exactly what she expected in return. She had wonderful success in her career, and no success in her social life.

“Candice will see you. She says you know the way.” The receptionist put down the phone.

“Thanks.” I nodded politely and headed back around the office. There was a wall that curved back to Candice’s office, making it seem further away than it really was.

I got to the door, and she had the phone on her shoulder and waved me in.

“Yes. Just do that. I have a VIP that just walked in, so I will talk to you later.” Candice hung up on them without even hearing what they had to say. “Miles!” She got up from her desk and opened her arms like I was her best friend, coming back for a hug.

I hugged her awkwardly. We had never once hugged when I worked for her.

“Hi, Candice. I’m afraid this is more of a social call. I could use your advice.” I’d worked out an excuse for coming to see her.

“Of course, of course. For the Bureau of Superheroes, I’d do just about anything. You all keep our city clear of villains.” Her power was kicking in, and the air between us was filling with ki as she tried to nudge my perception to agree with her.

I’d forgotten how much I hated her power, but I was better equipped to handle it.

So rather than just dismiss her power, I looked at the ki and how it flowed in her body. Then I took the clay and started to shape it. The clay was still in its invisible bubble by the door.

“Yeah, the BSH is a wonder sometimes. Even knowing the ins and outs, I still get baffled every day.” I made fluffy small talk.

“I hear you’re now the deputy director. Things move quickly there! I really tried to send a gift basket, but you weren’t at your old apartment when I called the front desk to check.” Candice smirked. “That girl you went on a date with. How’s that going?”

The conversation moved in a direction I wasn’t ready for. We were now equals, or if anything, I was now in a position above hers. And I wasn’t her direct report anymore.

“Good. We moved in together. I got rid of the apartment.”

My mind went back to the day I told Candice that I had a date. Never before would I realize how much importance she’d put on that.

She practically threw her work priorities out the door and told me to go on the date. I got the sense that she regretted the path she’d taken, but it was so long ago she’d accepted her choices.

She’d help others if she could.

But she was no angel. She still used her power to manipulate and keep her position of authority.

“That’s amazing. You have a family and a career. She’s Demoness, right? There are rumors there, too.” Candice’s power glowed brightly, and I etched the shape into the clay and double checked it as I went over some asinine problem that wasn’t really a problem with Candice to keep her speaking.

If I wanted to copy her power, I needed to understand how it worked in her body.

I wanted Obsidian to attain the power, and she could help deflect suspicion from me, starting with Beatrix.

I waited as Candice asked me more questions, using her power to guide me a little. And I kept finding questions to ask her in return.

We were both using each other, and strangely, that made me smile.