21. The Villain
THE VILLAIN
It could be on the table.
Fuck, I was so screwed. I shouldn’t have asked. I should have walked out the door and never looked back. But she was so close. So intoxicating. So warm. The words just slipped out before I could stop them.
It could be on the table.
Six words that had been rattling around in my head since they left her mouth. The reason I was pacing. Should I call now? Was she home yet? How could I keep myself from messing this up again? I was making my way to the door when my phone rang.
“Hello?”
“We have an opening. Get dressed and head to the airstrip.” Eva was on the other line.
“That’s not what we discussed. I don’t have enough time to case the place. I’m not going after him blind like last time.”
“I know this isn’t ideal, but Chang got a hold of his schedule and he’s headed out of town tonight for two months. We need to strike now. I’m here, casing for you. Do you trust me?”
“Of course I do. I don’t trust them.”
“That’s why I’m casing. How fast can you get to the private airfield?”
I didn’t like this. Something was screaming at me to wait until Plowers got back from the trip. Maybe we would get lucky and his jet would crash so I didn’t have to go after him at all.
“This doesn’t feel right.”
“We only have fifteen people left on the list, then you can retire. Think about it, Matt. We finish this and you get your life back. You don’t have to worry about putting V in danger, you can just be with her. The longer we wait on the judge, the longer it takes to go after the rest.”
That was true. We were almost six years since the incident and over three hundred people down the list. There were times where it felt impossible, but now that we were so close, I was starting to slack off.
Like the fifteen left would take me no time at all when in reality they were the hardest to get to.
It could be on the table.
If I finished this, I wouldn’t have to worry about my feelings putting Violet in danger. I would fake my death like I’d always planned and then I could just be a normal guy. A normal guy with a normal girl.
“I’ll be there in thirty.”
I made it in twenty-five minutes. We were hiding in an abandoned park across the way from the airfield.
I was counting the private security guards camped out on the perimeter while Eva used the heat sensors to check how many were inside.
There were twenty in total, which seemed like overkill to me, but Plowers was super paranoid even before I went after him so it made sense.
Eva had done five circles before I arrived.
There were six ways in, which meant six ways out. Not ideal, but I could make it work.
“I’ll go freeze the doors while we wait for him to show. Do you have an earpiece?”
She handed me one. It was one of those beige ones meant to blend into your ear.
“I’ll warn you if someone is coming. Make sure you stay outside, don’t get trapped in there.”
“I know.”
There was a large cornfield separating the park from the airfield, but obviously it was mid-December, so no corn. I had to take the long way around, using the elevated ground and a few snowbanks as cover instead.
“Duck,” Eva’s voice chirped in my ear.
I hit the ground, waiting for her to give me the all-clear. It was a minute before she spoke again.
“Okay, move. Quick. Another one is headed your way.”
I was on my feet running to the nearest car. I paused for a second to send everyone’s attention to the south, shooting an icicle out of my hand. It hit a garbage can just inside the hangar and every head snapped in that direction.
I made a mad dash to the north side of the building. I froze the door shut and left a thick layer of clear ice on the door handle. That wouldn’t budge.
Then I made my way around the back. There were four people guarding the two doors back there. I used the same trick I had on Chang, forcing them into the wall in an ice cocoon, with an added piece over their mouths so they couldn’t yell for back up.
Once doors two and three were taken care of, I went for four and five on the south side. Two guards were pacing this wall. That wasn’t right… Eva said there were—
A shot rang out. I hit the ground, not knowing where it was coming from. I felt the air separate as it whizzed past me, that was too close.
“South wall! Now!” Someone behind me was yelling.
I couldn’t think about it, I had to move.
I ran for the closest cover, a crane a hundred metres out.
More shots rang out behind me, but luck was on my side because no one could shoot.
At fifty metres I made an ice path so I could slide the rest of the way.
I made it under and behind the crane unscathed.
But more guns were joining the originals. I would guess at least ten.
“Blacksmith, how do I get out of this?” I waited, no answer. “Blacksmith?” I said more urgently. “Eva! Where the hell are you?”
“Circle around! We’ve got him pinned down!” Unnamed gunman four was yelling.
I didn’t care. I pulled myself up the crane to get a better view. Most of my mind was worried that Eva had been found or killed, but a cynical part of my brain was wondering if she had betrayed me. Something hadn’t felt right from the get-go; she was pushing me harder than usual.
I got up high enough to see the park while keeping myself hidden. Our gear was gone. She’d had enough time to pack up but not enough to give me a heads up? She’d left me here. Whether it was a set-up or not, she’d just left me.
The security team was closing in, still firing. I needed to get to the next hangar before I was completely surrounded. I’d be a sitting duck here, but if I could get to a spot with better cover, I’d be able to start firing back.
I threw up an ice wall to cover my back as I ran.
It was three hundred metres to the next hangar.
They’d cracked my wall before I’d made it halfway.
I kept my eyes and momentum forward while throwing up more and more walls.
It was draining me too fast. I could feel each wall getting thinner and thinner.
If I kept at this pace, I wouldn’t have anything left to hit them with.
It was easier when I was working with water. Freezing air molecules took a lot more effort. Luckily there were a couple snowbanks near the hangar I could melt and refreeze to take some of the load off. I just had—
“He’s coming to you, be ready.”
Shit. Someone’s radio was too loud, good for me, bad for them. Well, not really. I knew they were there, but I still had nowhere else to go. At least I’d be prepared to hit someone coming around the corner.
I melted the snow piled on the north wall, threw the water behind me, and froze it. That wall would be a lot harder break through, it would give me time to fight whoever was hiding around the corner.
I melted more snow, throwing the water in front of me like I had to slide under the crane.
This time I was sliding across the mouth of the hangar.
Five people in full riot gear were waiting there.
It took them a second to notice me, long enough that I could use snowballs to knock a few off their feet.
I attacked while they were disorientated.
I melted my slide, reforming them into icicles. Their gear was too thick for it to pierce but as long as I was firing those, they couldn’t shoot at me. I was running forward, pelting them until I could get close enough for hand to hand.
I went for the biggest guy first. He would be the hardest to take down, I’d need to get him while I still had energy.
I threw up another ice wall, separating him from the rest of his team before I hit him with an icicle right in his protective goggles.
He stumbled as I got in close. My fist connected with his jaw before he could recover.
He blocked my knee, striking my left side just below my ribs. I grunted. My costume was strictly for looks, it had absolutely no close-combat functionality because I’d never intended to be this close to my enemies. I’d need to rethink that if I made it out of here.
I stumbled out of reach and threw another icicle. He brought both arms up to block his face, letting his gun fall slack on its sling. I threw one more as I dove forward forming an ice knife to cut the sling and get his gun. He didn’t realize what I was going for until I’d stolen his rifle.
I wasn’t a fan of guns, even before my superpowers, a knife or a bow were my weapons of choice.
I couldn’t make myself care in this moment.
I needed to get this guy gone. Five rounds to the chest knocked him over.
I wasn’t even five feet from him so his vest did nothing to stop the bullets, but just in case, I knocked off his helmet and put one between his eyes too.
I forced my wall apart, sending ice shards and snow at the rest of the team. I put three more down while they were trying to bat away my projectiles. The last person got to cover before I could get them.
Shit. I threw up a half wall to duck behind.
I didn’t get down fast enough. A bullet ripped its way through my shoulder. Luckily, it went clean through and my body was already healing itself. Perks of having superpowers strikes again.
“Put your weapon on the ground and surrender. You’re surrounded and outnumbered.” Unnamed woman number two yelled from her cover behind a plane wheel.
“I like my odds.”
That was a lie. Every second I wasn’t running for the door, I liked my odds less and less. I needed to get outside, to the snow, so I could stop draining myself. With the rest of the team breaking apart my last wall, I needed to get the hell out of here.
“We can sit here all night; you’re not getting out of here alive!”
I switched to a crouch and popped up for half a second. Her rifle appeared from behind the wheel of the nearest plane. I sent my shattered wall flying at her before she could get a shot off and booked it to the back door.
I heard the gun fire behind me while I ran full speed to the door.
I slammed it shut behind me, took one second to breathe, then ran for the hill.
I needed to get out of sight and slip into the shadows so I could escape.
If I drained any more of my strength creating ice walls from nothing, I wouldn’t be able to travel through the shadows at the speed required to get the hell out—
A bullet pierced the side of my leg. I lost my footing and fell to the ground, pain ripping its way through me. It wasn’t a clean shot. The bullet was stuck in there and my body couldn’t heal.
A helicopter sounded overhead; I allowed myself one second to peek at it. It didn’t look like reinforcements, it looked like a news chopper. I could see a pilot, a camera person, and a reporter. Shit.
I was back on my feet—one foot, all my weight went on my uninjured right leg. I turned to face the crowd of soldiers pouring through the door.
“Looks like your odds aren’t so good.” It was the same voice from the hangar, coming from the middle of the crowd.
“It’s not over yet.”
I melted every snowbank in my immediate vicinity, turning the water into all kinds of projectiles—icicles, snowballs, ice balls.
Guns started firing but no one was aiming.
I thought I was doing pretty well until three bullets grazed me—left arm, right cheek, right leg—and two hit me—lower right side of my abdomen and left shoulder (again).
I had to get the hell out of here. Time to break out the big guns.
I created a tornado of snow and ice. It whipped around me, winds up to 100 km an hour. The soldiers were yelling at each other, calling for a full retreat. I couldn’t see them; they couldn’t see me. The helicopter was also out of sight.
I slipped into the shadows. The tornado died almost instantly. It didn’t matter, I was gone before anyone could get reoriented, heading to the only person I knew I could trust.