Chapter 10 #2
“This is why you don’t belong at the top.
You’re weak. You need to be better. Yet you don’t learn, you don’t change.
You are a joke. If you want to be better, you must cut yourself off from everything around you.
Feelings, attachments, they hold you back from what you were created to do.
Now do what you’ve been told and kill them all. ”
“Deus!”
I jump and look over at Ellison. “What? What’s wrong?”
“What the fuck were you doing?”
“Talking to my demons,” I say.
“You and these fucking demons. Talk to some angels for once or something.”
Nah, the demons I talk to are deep in hell. I made sure of it.
“I do speak to angels—every day I talk to you.”
The glower I get is enough to send me to hell but it also makes me laugh, which shows me that the glower can deepen.
When I pull up to the mall, I notice that there’s a crowd gathering to see what’s going on, and it’s blocking my path. The police are trying to get them back, actually helping for once now that new regulations are in place prohibiting wannabe heroes from being on scene and onlookers from loitering.
Doesn’t mean that all will listen, but I know how to make them listen.
“Fucking ridiculous that even now they still do this,” Ellison grumbles. “They’re wasting police support. Just park over there, we’ll push through them on foot.”
“Nah, I got this,” I say as I keep driving.
“What are you doing?” Ellison asks, looking a bit nervous.
“They’ll either move or it’s going to be a bumpy ride,” I comment as people start scrambling. They’re running and dodging out of the way of my car while I cackle and Ellison stomps on an imaginary brake. Not sure how he thinks he’s going to make it appear.
I come to a stop, then get out and stretch before I look back at the people who I’ve driven a good distance from the scene. Really, the police should take some pointers.
We head over to where Valerie is standing with Landon and August, but she oddly looks displeased to see us.
“What the FUCK are you doing?” Valerie yells, but what I notice more than anything is that the woman is wearing a skirt. I didn’t know monsters could wear skirts. “The media is here and I’m sure they got pictures and videos of that!”
“You’re making it sound like the only reason he shouldn’t have done that is because of the police and media and not because he could have hit someone,” Ellison says.
Valerie is silent.
I wave them down. Really, it makes me feel too special when they fight over me. “My mans, it’s okay. I could have saved lives.”
“You also could have taken them!” Ellison says.
I reach over and grab both of his shoulders. “You… my dear friend… are going to worry yourself into an early grave. Now stay with Valerie.”
Before I can say more, I hear people chanting and look over at the ruckus out of curiosity.
There’s a man standing on the hood of someone’s car facing the group of onlookers.
“This is why supers should be placed under control. They’re manipulative, cruel, and unnatural.
There should be regulations in place to keep our families safe.
They are the reason why we have to fear every time our children, our parents, and our loved ones leave home!
Without supers, our lives would be safer! ”
“Do you want me to silence him?” I ask Valerie.
Ellison sighs and turns me away. “I’m pretty sure silencing a protester as vocal as him would be the fuel they need.”
“There are more ways than violence to silence a man. But fine, fine. Valerie… I have this for you.”
I tear off my newest invoice that states the following:
$42,000-Ellison babysitting
$399.14-To cover trauma caused by Ellison refusing to allow me to eat on the couch
$292.25-Supplies for Ellison’s “long cat”
$2,111.30-Trauma caused by seeing Valerie’s face
Total: $44,802.69
When I hand it to Valerie, she glances at it, rips it up into little shreds, and blows it into my face.
I write up a new one and tack on a two percent “Valerie is being a dick” fee and a “don’t litter” fee before stepping in real close to whisper in her ear.
“I have saved your precious August from countless assassins set to take his life. I have nurtured your sweet baby boy so he can bloom by placing a bullet between the eyes of a man who was going to blow up him and his happy little family just last week when your own guards saw nothing during that picnic. I have made it so that little cherub of yours can enjoy his precious life, but I can walk away if you so choose to deny me my money.”
She takes the invoice and I smile, pleased with myself.
“Hold my ferret,” I say as I pass her off.
Landon is staring at me with his head cocked. “Did… did you just bully Valerie?”
“I and my demons can bully you too, if you like it so much,” I tell him as I boop his nose.
“August… I’m both scared and a little into it,” Landon says.
“I am too,” August replies.
“Has anyone else noticed that Valerie is wearing a skirt? Do we believe she’s been body-swapped?” I ask.
“I came from a wedding, thank you very much!” Valerie yells.
“Ah… Seems sketchy. Now wait right here,” I instruct as I start past the reporters to head for the building. Ellison grabs me by the collar and proceeds to choke me in front of all who are watching. “Not so rough, Daddy.”
“That’ll be the quote in tomorrow’s headline,” Lex says as he walks up. “I’m here… not quite sure why. I never really do anything. Moral support, I guess.”
“You’d look good in a cheerleader’s outfit.”
“I would, wouldn’t I?” he asks. “It’s the curse of looking good in everything I put on.”
Ellison sighs. “Valerie, what’s the rundown?”
“We’ve identified that there are at least five villains but possibly more. They’re holding a group of people hostage in the food court. They are asking for one of their buddies to be released from prison or they’re going to kill all hostages.”
“Can I just like… lift the roof off the building and pluck them out?” Landon asks.
“I would prefer you didn’t. We don’t know how many innocents are hiding inside the building that we can’t track,” she says.
“Boo.”
“Also, one of the villains is a guy who can turn invisible. We don’t know if it’s the one we’re looking for, but there’s a possibility it is,” Valerie continues.
“You mean this guy right here?” I ask as I point to the guy who is practically hanging over her shoulder so he can listen in. I grab him in a headlock and press my gun against his head. He’s so startled he drops his invisibility for a moment.
Valerie hesitates. “Yes… that guy.”
“Awesome,” I say before I begin hauling him into the mall.
“W-What the fuck are you doing?” he cries as he tries to wiggle free, but I punch him with my gun.
Valerie looks ready to tear out her hair. “What the fuck are you doing? We need to arrest him! Read him his rights! His rights, Deus!”
“You have the right to be used as cannon fodder,” I declare as I drag him through the front door.
He tries turning invisible, but it’s not like I can’t see him, so I simply tighten my grip on his throat. “I’m going to blow a hole in your buddies’ heads if you don’t come along.”
“August, isn’t he so fun?” Landon asks. “I’m so glad I found him. He just really makes these things worth going to.”
“Is… Is… Landon, I don’t think this is how we’re supposed to do any part of this,” August says, but still he follows me. “Do you know how many classes I took on the proper way to apprehend villains? How to talk to them. Their rights…”
I shrug. “The only right they have is getting a first-class ticket down to hell.”
“Asmodeus, listen to your boss!” Ellison orders.
“You’re the only person I want to listen to when you call me your sugar daddy,” I say.
“Isn’t Ellison the rich one?” Landon asks.
“I would think, but if they’re actually paying Deus those invoices… he might be the rich one,” Lex comments.
“I feel like maybe we have more important matters to discuss,” August says. “We need to save the hostages. I have an idea of how we can compromise with the villains. Where’s the speaker room?”
“Ooh, good idea, we could blast boss music as we go into the room,” I realize.
“No… so we can try to explain the situation and get the hostages free,” August says, sounding strangely exasperated.
Landon asks, “Could we play the audiobook I’m listening to over the speaker so I can still listen while we grudgingly do stuff? I’m at a really good part but my phone can’t play it loud enough to hear it over the whining hostages.”
“I really do question whether I’m with villains or heroes half of the time,” Ellison says.
August calls Valerie who puts an employee on the line that tells us where to reach the security room we’re hoping to go to, but when we get there, I don’t expect someone to already be inside.
Her head snaps up from where she’d been staring at her phone instead of the security monitors that would have told her we were coming. Like there we are on screen where I can see Landon trying to discreetly read a book on his phone—which he hates doing but will resort to during desperate times.
“Fuck,” she says as she lifts her hand and water rapidly begins to flood the room. She dives down into it before I can shoot her and moves swiftly through it and out into the hallway while the water rushes up to our waists.
“Wait, Veronica! You forgot to save me!” the guy I’m holding cries.
“Waterboarding made easy,” I say as I dunk his head under the water. His arms start making unique windmill movements.
“I don’t think that’s called waterboarding, that would be classified as drowning, and why are you doing that?” Ellison asks.
I lift his head up. “You ready to listen to me?”
“Yes! I was before! I haven’t even fought against you yet!” he cries. At least I washed his tears away.
“Who is your leader?” I ask.
“H-Her name is Annabella. She staged this to get her brother out of prison!”