Alpha Male (6 page)

Grabbing his phone from his belt, he clicked the button to turn on the screen. A notification for a new message from Rose came up on the display.

"My office, now!" it read.

"Great," he said, flying off in the direction of the police station.

It took only a few minutes before the roof came into view. A few seconds after that, he saw her standing there, glaring at him, arms crossed.

"How may I help you?" he asked, descending to the roof next to her.

"You hear about Officer Reedy?" She asked, her face stern, her voice stoic.

"Um, no?"

“He’s in the hospital,” she said, pulling out a pack of cigarettes. She placed one in her mouth and fumbled with her lighter until she got the flame working long enough to inhale some relieving nicotine.

"Is he OK?" Alpha asked.

"He's stabilized, but that’s not why you're here," she said, inhaling deep again. "He said he was attacked by a man who used his mind to nearly crush him."

"What?” Alpha asked with a baffled look on his face. "That's impossible."

Rose started laughing, but caught herself before the inappropriate act could go on. "I'm sorry," she said, ashamed of herself. "But you saying that is insanely ironic."

"I'm different," he said, taking a step forward. "I have a strength that makes me nigh invulnerable and allows me to fly. While crazy, it's much more logical than a guy who can shoot mind bullets or crush people."

"Maybe to you," she said. "Either way, it’s not just Reedy. There are multiple witnesses who saw it as well. It hasn't gone viral yet, thank God. It's taking everything we've got to keep the reporters at bay."

"OK," he said. "Where was he last seen?"

"Kirby's. Do you know it?" she asked, pulling her last drag off the smoke. She dropped the butt and stomped it beneath her dull red high heel.

“Yeah, I know it,” Alpha said, crossing his arms.

“Apparently, they are describing him as a bum. Dirty, with ragged clothing,” she said, pulling another cigarette from the soft pack in her hands.

The door behind Rose opened, and a man’s head popped out of the crack. He was balding, with blonde trim growing around the sides of his head.

“Hey chief, those bums have struck again," he said.  Alpha recognized him as Mac, a detective.

"Where?" Alpha asked.

"Over at Morrison's deli," Mac said. "They had just closed when—"

Alpha didn't hear the rest of his words. The sounds of rushing wind passed his ears as he raced off towards the deli. Zipping through the buildings, and just over the traffic, he made his way across town without slowing down.

He landed in front of the dark deli. People had already begun to gather around the police tape while uniformed officers did their best to hold off the crowd. Behind the tape, he stared at the blown out doorway before walking up the stairs.

“You can’t just go in there,” one of the officers yelled to him.

Alpha turned around, glaring at the young man. His pressed suit was crisp, and his shoes polished. The gleam of his badge was distracting from the name etched on it. Ellis.

“This is a crime scene. You’re going to contaminate the evidence, or worse,” Ellis said, pointing a finger.

“I just got back from talking to your boss,” Alpha said. “I’m going in there, and I’m going to find and stop whoever did this.”

“I don’t give a fuck who you just spoke to. Until I get confirmation, this is a closed scene.”  Ellis said, stepping up, his hand going to the gun at his hip.

“You cannot stop me, so do your job and keep these people back," Alpha said, then turned away.

Inside, Alpha could hear the two officers.

"What the fuck?" the other said to Ellis. "That guy's a hero, and you were about to pull your gun on him?"

"Man, I'm fucking tired of everyone licking his ass!" Ellis said. "This city hasn't needed him in years. Plus, he's the reason my dad got laid off!"

"Your dad got laid off because he a lazy asshole who got caught with hookers on video," the other officer said.

"Whatever," Ellis said. "Fuck you!"

Inside, the room was destroyed. Two detectives moved around, shuffling through the debris looking for anything that could be a clue.

"Good to see you, Alpha," said a voice from the back.  A detective with a long coat waded up to the super hero.

"Yeah, you too," Alpha said.

"You don't remember me, do you?"

Alpha gave a guilty smile and shrugged a bit. "Sorry, I meet and save so many people."

"No worries," the detective said. "The name is Vaughn."

"Nice to meet you, again," Alpha said, looking around. "What exactly happened here?"

"Oh man, it's a doozy," Vaughn said, walking around the counter, while beckoning Alpha to come closer. "So, even with the reports of freaks at that gas explosion; hell even with recorded footage, we couldn't believe it. Then we get Reedy's report on the mind powers guy, and even then, we just thought he was nuts. Check this out though."

Vaughn flipped on a small closed circuit security monitor with his gloved hand. Bending over, he hit the rewind button and gave it a few seconds. Alpha watched the events unfold in reverse, but it was too fast to capture the details. Vaughn hit the play button, and took a few steps back. Alpha leaned over the counter and watched.

"Now, you can see the victims here, doing their daily thing. Buying shit, spending money, that sort of thing. Then comes the bad guys. You see there?" he asked pointing to the bearded homeless man. "He's the talker. He makes demands while the other just stands there, silent. The place goes up in a fuss, and BAM,” he said, pointing. Did you see that? The quiet fucker just wrecked the place with his mind. Do you need me to rewind it?"

Alpha shook his head "no" and turned away. He rested against the counter, pensive and distant. A moment later he turned back and said, "Any idea where they went?"

"Nah, there are far too many homeless fucks in this city," Vaughn said. "They could be anywhere."

"Yeah," Alpha said, getting ready to walk out. He stopped and looked back to Vaughn. "Hey, let’s keep this under wraps. The longer we can keep the people in the dark, the better."

"I'll do my best," Vaughn said.

Alpha stepped out of the building and leapt into the air. The crowd of people did their best to catch his flight on their phones. Each one cheering, or cussing.

*****

Al and Larry sat in the dark, huddled behind a dumpster. Larry nursed the half empty bottle of whiskey, while Al tore into another packaged pastry. Together they hid from the outside world while enjoying the spoils of their deeds.

"We can't keep doing this," Al said with a mouth full of chocolate cakes. "I can't keep hurting people. Not for this."

"What?" Larry asked, wide eyed. "This is putting food and drink in our bellies. ‘Sides, no one’s been hurt yet."

Al stopped eating long enough to look over at Larry and said, "I nearly killed that man!  Not to mention the people we hurt every time we rob them."

"Insurance covers it, don't worry," Larry said, taking another swig. "How about this. We take a break, and find us that soup kitchen I was telling you about. The one with the cute sorority girls.  They'll feed us alright."

Al finished his food, then swallowed a couple of over the counter pain pills. Lying back, he rested his head against the brick wall and sighed with both eyes closed.

"Hey Larry, where do you think this power came from?" Al asked, with his eyes closed.

“Hell, I don’t know,” Larry replied. “But it’s a gift, I know that. Look at that hero Alpha Male. If you don’t want to rob stores, maybe we can get you in the hero racket. I’m sure there’s money to be made there, right?”

Al didn't respond. Instead, there came a small sound rising up from the bottom of his throat. The sound turned into a low growl, and it broke. Heavy breathing came next.

"You OK, buddy?" Larry asked.

"I don't know," Al said. "Something’s wrong."

"Do we need to get you to the doc?" Larry asked.

Al closed his eyes, and placed both hands on his head. "I can't control it," he said as the things around them began to shake. "You need to leave."

Larry didn't hesitate. Within seconds, he was up and around the dumpster, running down the alley. Al let out a low growl that built up into a powerful yell. Everything around him exploded outward, hitting the brick walls. The dumpster exploded through the building, tumbling into someone’s living room. Screams came from within and dogs barked upstairs.

"Come on," Larry said, grabbing his friend. The homeless man looked around at the chaos as he attempted to drag his friend away by the shoulders.

Al was awake, but barely coherent. In and out of a daze, he had tears in his eyes, and snot running down his face. Larry struggled against the man's weight as the sounds of sirens sounded off in the distance.

"Come on," he said again, pulling him through the maze of alleys, struggling to stay away from the main streets.

"I'm sorry," Al said, muttering. "I just got so angry, I couldn't help it."

"It's OK," Larry said. "We all struggle sometimes."

"Thank you," Al said, before passing out.

Chapter Six.  

"Where the hell did you get this stuff?" Eddy asked, looking at the large moving truck and the box of medical supplies in the back.

"We stole it, duh!" said Xavier, who was wearing a one piece brown moving outfit. His spiked mohawk stood straight up, brushing against the top of the truck’s interior as he moved the box to the back. He bent down, unclasped the lid, and pulled out two syringes and a bottle of clear fluid. He turned it upside down, checking for leaks, then put them in his pocket.

Jumping down, he approached Eddy and stood with him next to the pit. The thing below was bloody, and angry, still fighting to escape. The animalistic gurgling that escaped its throat gave him chills, as it stared up at them with hollow eyes.

"I got enough for us to experiment a bit," Xavier said, patting the pocket. "I figure we dose it now, and see how long it lasts. That way we can estimate how long it'll take for the thing to wake up."

"Good thinking," Eddy said, watching the monstrous thing below. It howled and struck at the walls and floor, crumbling the concrete with each devastating blow.

"You sure this is a good idea?" Xavier asked.

"Honestly? No." Eddy said, looking at Xavier. "But we're doing it."

*****

Rose stood behind the podium, drowning in the fervent voices of the reporters who had gathered on the ground below. They cramped in, each pushing forward to get as close as possible.  This kind of display had never happened to her before, and for a moment, she couldn't collect her words.

"Police Chief Guerra, is there, or isn't there a supervillain?" asked a female reporter with light auburn hair. She held her voice recorder up to capture the response.

"A supervillain?" Rose asked, hiding a cocky smile. "Come on. No one has seen any villains flying around in crazy costumes. If they were, Alpha Male would have already taken them down. What we have is a case of strange happenings that my people are looking into. If and when a supervillain emerges, I'll be here to tell you. Next question."

"With all the flack you've been getting for relying too heavily on Alpha-Male, do you think the city’s impending review of your career is founded?" asked a male further in the back that read the question from his phone. He waited to type her response. The words took her by surprise, but she didn't hesitate long.

"The city hired me in the first place. I trusted their judgment then, just as I do now. I also trust that my record will speak for itself. Now, let’s try to keep this press conference on topic." she said, pointing to the next reporter.

"Have the police found any connection between the recent events and this sudden spike in gang related behavior?" asked an older man wearing a ball cap that read “The Daily".

"There has been no connection found at this point, nor do we have any reason to believe one will come up," she said, pointing to the next. "Last question."

An Asian woman in stylish glasses scribbled some notes onto her tablet before looking up with her question. "Um yes, has the police found any more information on the giant men that rampaged through the city last week?"

"I'm sorry, but that is an ongoing investigation and I cannot fully comment on it at this time," she said. "Thank you for coming. I assure you, this city is doing what it can to find the person or persons who have done this. Alpha Male's presence may have brought us all a greater sense of safety and well-being, but it has not lulled this police force into complacency. We are just as capable as ever, and my men and women are doing everything they can to protect this city. Have a good day!"

She stepped away from the podium with four uniformed officers escorting her away from the crowd. Together, they ducked back into the police precinct behind them.

Once they were through the large glass double doors and into the building, her escorts gave her a courteous tip of the hat before they parted ways. Every officer she passed in the crowded halls gave her a smile or an approving nod. Already she could hear her comments coming from the TVs in the offices as she passed.

She entered the elevator and made her way to the top floor in silence. Typically, she couldn't wade through these halls without being stopped every few feet, but days like this were different. Everyone knew she needed to unwind after a press conference. This was her routine, and it was one she was very serious about.

Rose closed the door to her office and sat at her desk, exhaling a sigh of relief as the cushion sank beneath her weight. She wasn't there more than ten seconds when a knock came at her door.

"Come on in, Mac," she said.

The knob turned and the door slowly creaked open enough for him to poke his head through the crack.

"You did well out there," he said.

"I told you to come in," she said, spinning her chair around to the short metal filing cabinet behind her. Pulling the drawer open, she rummaged through the manila envelopes inside as Mac slid into the room and sat down.