Hero Unit (9 page)

She’s a PR rep, what would you expect?

“Of course,” Mrs. Holander allowed them in
and said, “Wait here I’ll go and tell him you’re here.”

“Thank you,” Emily said, still smiling. They
were left in a well-lit foyer. The décor was simple and clean.

“Do you know this guy?” Ace asked quietly.
She kept her eyes moving.

Emily shook her head. “He works in the law
firm on the floor below my company.”

Ace didn’t like the idea of dealing with a
lawyer, especially a Reg lawyer, but she was just here as backup.
Emily would be doing all the talking. A few minutes of waiting and
Mr. Holander joined them in the entryway. “Can I help you?” he
asked.

Right out the gate Mr. Holander put Ace at
ease. She just wanted to trust him. That should have put her on her
guard. She had no idea what his power was, having never consulted
the Reg database, but she liked to think that Emily would have
warned her if this guy was a potential problem. “Yes Mr. Holander
we are here to ask you a few questions about the recent incident at
the building where your firm is located,” Emily said.

“Of course, please come in. Charlene could
you get us something to drink?” Mr. Holander seemed genuinely
interested in helping, which also upped Ace’s estimation of him as
a person.

Not all Regs are morons.

In the living room Ace and Emily took the
couch while Mr. Holander took one of the overstuffed recliners.
They were joined my Mrs. Holander who was carrying a tray with
glasses full of water. Ace was grateful for the ice in her glass.
Thanks to Hellfire the mid-August heat was still in full
effect.

“I don’t know if there’s much I can tell you.
I only heard about what happened,” Mr. Holander began.

“That’s alright, we are actually looking into
anyone who knew the Anti involved. But before we begin, by law, I
must tell you that I am a consultant working for the E.E.D and I am
an upper-tier, Mental Class,” Emily said. She handed her newly
printed credentials to Mr. Holander who looked them over carefully
before handing them back.

“Very well, I have nothing to hide so you
have my permission to use your powers as you feel necessary during
our interview,” Mr. Holander said. He was still totally relaxed,
though his wife looked tense. She was clearly a normal and not
comfortable with the casual talk of using powers in her home.

Most normals would be uncomfortable.

“Thank you for your cooperation,” Emily said.
“Now the Anti involved called himself Technosis, but before he was
known as Jim Parker, a Registered technomancer.”

“No way, that was Jim?” Mr. Holander looked
dumbfounded.

“So you knew him?” Emily asked.

“Yeah, Jim and I were golfing buddies. Most
weekends and whenever we could both get time off we’d try to get a
round in,” he explained. “I haven’t seen him in, man, over a year.
Do you know what happened to him?”

“How familiar are you with the Homo Superior
Organization, Mr. Holander?” Emily asked.

He sat back in his chair, a look of horror on
his face. “Are you telling me what the Time’s printed was
true?”

Hell.

“At this time we have only found two people
directly involved with the HSO here in New Davenport. We have
absolutely nothing that points to them having a large presence
here, nor do we feel that the Exceptionals community as a whole is
in danger,” Ace replied. That was the NDPD and the E.E.D’s official
statement on the issue. Torment had let her know just before they’d
left the precinct.

Mr. Holander looked at her, recognition
blooming across his face. “The Fifth? The Fifth is in my home?”

Mrs. Holander turned a little paler at her
husband’s question. Ace gave a reluctant nod of agreement. “That is
correct. I am Ace, the only member of the Fifth Generation.”

With a smile Mr. Holander stood and offered
his hand. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Ace.”

That’s a refreshing change.

More than a little taken aback Ace shook the
offered hand and said, “It’s nice to meet you.”

Smooth.

Mr. Holander looked like he wanted to ask her
dozens of questions, but Emily cleared her throat and he said, “I’m
sorry. Please, continue.”

“Was Mr. Parker acting strange at all in the
months prior to his vacation?” Emily asked.

“Not any more than usual. He’d always get a
little upset after seeing Tomahawk speak, or if he read an article
by that idiot Vince Jones, but other than that things seemed fine,”
Mr. Holander replied. His expression was again serious and
focused.

Vince and Tomahawk, that guy was asking for
trouble.

Vince Jones was a well-known and very vocal
opponent of Exceptionals. He was Tomahawk’s opposite in so many
ways.

“Did he have any other known Exceptional
friends?”

“I couldn’t really tell you. He never really
talked about his other friends out on the course. I think he
mentioned a girlfriend once, but that’s about it,” he replied.

Emily nodded and looked over her notebook.
“Well I think that’s everything. Thank you for your time Mr. and
Mrs. Holander.”

Ace and Emily began to rise, but Mr. Holander
held up a hand and said, “Wait, do I need to worry about Homo
Superior trying to come after me?”

Emily looked at Ace. She shook her head. “I
don’t think so. You seem pretty satisfied with your job and life.
From what we’ve been able to gather the HSO likes to target people
who are disgruntled, people who want to bring about changes. But if
you have suspicions about someone, please let the E.E.D know.”

At least he’ll be smart enough to know the
difference between a telemarketer and potential contact with the
HSO.

Mr. Holander nodded. “Thank you.”

Again Ace and Emily stood and Mr. Holander
escorted them to the door. They said goodbye and left. Back in
Ace’s truck Emily said, “That was easier than I expected.”

Ace pulled out of the Holander’s driveway.
“I’m glad for that. Did you get anything else from him?”

“He’s clean. The worst secret he has is
occasionally going to a strip club with his work buddies,” Emily
replied.

“Hardly illegal,” Ace said as she drove away.
“You want to try a couple more?”

“Sure,” Emily replied.

Three hours and four visits later they went
back to Ace’s. “I didn’t think questioning people would be quite
this tiring,” Emily said as she kicked off her shoes.

Ace laughed. “There’s a reason I’m still just
a uniform. Detective work is hard, even for someone like me. Just
be glad it was only for a few hours and not all damn day.”

“You mind if I use the gym?” Emily asked.

“Knock yourself out. I got a good workout in
at work so it’s all yours,” Ace replied. “I’ll get dinner
ready.”

“Thanks, I kind of missed lunch,” Emily
replied. Ace just shook her head and waved Emily away. “Go workout,
just don’t pass out.”

Emily smiled and went down stairs. Ace turned
to the kitchen and began getting dinner made. She had to admit it
was kind of nice having a roommate. It was also nice that their
friendship seemed so natural. Ace didn’t have many friends and
Emily was fast becoming her closest.

About damn time.

The next few days were eerily quiet for the
officers of the E.E.D. Other than the one case that Bulldog’s unit
had been called in on, there were no other calls for Hero
intervention. It was like the entire city was holding its breath,
waiting for something to happen. It put most of the police on edge,
even the normals.

Ace and Emily spent most of their time
questioning Regs trying to find out more information on Technosis.
They’d encountered mixed results. Most of the subjects were willing
enough; they just didn’t have any useful information. Some had
become belligerent, forcing Ace to arrest a few. They were on their
way to yet another name on their list when the explosion hit the
truck.

Chapter 10

The force of the explosion rolled the heavy vehicle
twice. Ace was disoriented by the sudden impact. She had to wait
until the truck stopped rolling before she could get a handle on
the situation. Her truck had ended up on its passenger side. She
killed the engine and checked on Emily. Her friend was unconscious,
but breathing. The truck’s safety systems had done their job. Ace
made sure there were no serious injuries other than the gash in
Emily’s head, before climbing up and taking a look out of the
smashed driver’s side window.

Guns started firing as soon as her head came
in view. That annoyed her. She always hated getting shot. She
didn’t dare leave the truck to track down the shooter, judging by
the number of rounds it was probably shooters. Whoever had thrown
the bomb would be expecting that. Instead she ducked back inside
and made sure Emily was protected. She dialed 911 on her
device.

“911 emergency, what is the nature of your
call?” asked the woman who answered.

“This is Officer Ace from Hero Unit twelve
ninety. I’m currently under fire at the intersection of Fortieth
and Telegraph. There are an unknown number of gunmen and I have a
wounded Reg with me,” Ace said. She had to shout over the sound of
bullets pounding into the undercarriage of her truck.

“I have your GPS signal, Hero Units will be
dispatched immediately,” the dispatcher said. Ace could hear the
sudden urgency in the woman’s voice. Apparently Detective Allen had
had a talk with the dispatchers.

“Thank you. I advise extreme caution. My
truck was hit by an explosive of an unknown type,” Ace added.
“There is a high possibility that there is a powerful Energy Class
leading this attack.”

“Affirmative, we will dispatch Duck and
Cover’s unit,” the woman said.

That was the best Ace could do. Now she had
to settle in and wait for her fellow Heroes to show up. For the
first time she wished that Einstein had been able to finish her
sidearm. Maybe the sight of her with a gun would have scared at
least a few of them off.

Her thoughts were interrupted as yet another
blast slammed into the truck. This one wasn’t nearly as powerful as
the first. Instead of lifting the truck it spun it around. Ace was
glad she had picked Emily up as sparks flew from the metal grinding
across the pavement.

This was a bad situation. As long as she had
Emily she couldn’t run effectively, their difference in height made
it too awkward, it would leave her friend too exposed. In the brief
look she’d taken she’d been unable to spot any of the shooters.

Another blast rocked the truck. This one
nearly turned it on its roof. Whoever was throwing around
explosions either didn’t have a lot of control on their power, or
they were just trying to rattle her. Ace did her best to brace the
truck against further blasts while still keeping Emily as protected
as she could.

At last she heard sirens over the gunfire. It
was a relief, but she didn’t relax. Instead she braced herself
against a last ditch attempt by her attackers. Sure enough it came
in the form of an explosion that was more powerful than the first.
It sent her truck tumbling through the air; Ace lost track of which
way was up as she was thrown around the cabin. In the chaos she did
her best to shield Emily.

Remarkably the truck landed back on its
wheels. Once Ace was again reoriented she realized the only sound
she could hear were the approaching sirens. Again she checked Emily
for injuries. The other woman didn’t look like she was any worse
shape, but there could be internal injuries that Ace couldn’t see
or feel. She just hoped whoever had been attacking them was long
gone when the ambulance arrived.

Ace always hated hospitals. They reminded her
too much of the labs where she’d spent a good deal of her
childhood. White walls, brilliantly white lights, people in scrubs
and lab coats and the almost nauseating smell of disinfectant.

At least no one here wants to try and take
samples of you.

Not that anyone else knew about the attempted
experiments on her. Her parents had made sure to erase all of it.
That also included who she really was. Only a few people were
supposed to know. She preferred it that way. Antis couldn’t use her
family against her if they didn’t know who her family was. This
situation served as a reminder of that. She’d been hard pressed to
keep Emily safe, let alone trying to stop the attack.

You need her just as much as she needs you.
You can’t throw this one away.

She thought all this over while she waited in
the hallway outside of Emily’s room. Torment and Moses were in the
room conversing. Ace could almost hear, but she didn’t care to. She
just wanted to be sure that her friend was going to be okay.

It wasn’t long before Torment and Moses
stepped back into the hallway. “Emily will survive. She suffered a
concussion, but other than that she just has bruises,” Torment
said, much to Ace’s relief.

Moses nodded to Ace and then walked down the
hall. He wasn’t a member of the E.E.D, but ran the Exceptionals
Wing of Genesis West Medical Facility and had permission to use his
powers while on the hospital campus. It and its sister facility,
Genesis East, were just two of the many hospitals that served the
Greater New Davenport Area. “Moses took care of the worst of it.
The rest will heal on its own. She’ll be able to leave in a little
while.”

Ace nodded her thanks.

“What happened?” Torment asked.

“We were going to the next name on our list.
An explosion hit the driver’s side of my truck. Once I figured out
which way was up I checked Emily and then tried to get a good view
of the situation. I wasn’t able to spot any of the shooters from my
position so I called it in and hunkered down to wait,” Ace replied.
She was tired. It wasn’t a physical tired; her body had hardly done
anything. It was an emotional tired; the stress of the situation
leaving her exhausted and irritable.