Anthology Two Presents...
Villains: "Recruitment"
By Jason S. Kenney
Simon Cooper opened his door half expecting to come face to face another one of Pacific City's heroes. And while he should have, he certainly didn't expect to open his door to nothing.
"Hello?" he shouted into his own home, waiting for a response.
Nothing.
Simon sighed and closed the door behind him, tossing his keys on his coffee table as he went by and ignoring the answering machine on his way to the kitchen. He didn't trust the machine. Not since yesterday. And the visit.
Simon cursed his community service, time in a soup kitchen.
Beef stew.
It permeated the air of the place and leeched into his clothes. He reeked of it.
The taste of the air lingered in his mouth.
He went into a cabinet and grabbed a glass, filling it with water and gargling.
He'd spent the last three years as a vegetarian and now had to deal with this.
Every other night.
He spat the water out and gargled again, dumping the rest of the water out as he spat and making his way towards his living room.
He stopped at the sight of the two men sitting on his couch.
"Sorry to startle you, Mister Cooper," said the tall, thin man on the left, his hat in his hands as he started to stand. The man's companion remained sitting, though if it was for simple comfort or the fact that rising would have been an effort was up for debate.
"What do you want, Sad?" asked Simon as he crossed his arms.
His last run in with these gentlemen was not entirely in vain, granting him more long term use of his powers. But their failure to support him did nothing to endear them to him.
The man on the couch, fat and round and insanely happy, giggled at Simon's words though they were in no way amusing.
"We are here to assist you in your endeavor," said Sad, reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out a folded piece of paper.
"What endeavor?" Simon asked, confusing creeping into his voice.
He had spoken of his idea to no one other than Tracy Pines and Frank Sign last night.
Sad cocked an eyebrow, the closest thing to a smile Simon expected from the man. Happy just giggled.
"Tell him about the message," said Happy as he nearly clapped his hands.
Simon looked from the two men to his answering machine, the light blinking as if on Happy's command. He looked back to Sad who nodded towards the machine.
Simon hit play.
The first message was a solicitation and Simon listened to it all the way through, though not paying attention, just staring at Sad and Happy.
The second message was his mother and he let it play all the way through.
The third message was a male voice unfamiliar to him, but one that caught his attention right away and thrust a weight on him that he could not account for.
"Good afternoon, Mister Cooper," said the serious voice. "You do not know who I am, nor am I going to identify myself, but you will listen to what I say if you hope to succeed in your proposals."
Simon looked to the machine.
"There should be a couple of gentlemen in your living room at the moment," said the voice, Simon's eyes turning back to Happy and Sad. "They are there to assist you. Sad should have a piece of paper out to present to you. I recommend you take it now and unfold it."
The voice paused as Sad held out the paper. Simon grabbed it and was halfway through unfolding it when the voice continued.
"There are names listed of people who are sympathetic to your cause. Also contained is an address to a warehouse to which Sad has the key."
Simon looked up to see Sad dangling a key from his finger.
"You should be able to prepare at this location without any interference," continued the voice. "As you can probably tell, Mister Cooper, I am sympathetic to your cause, though perhaps for different reasons. So I ask that you be very careful in your endeavor and do not mess it up.
"Good luck, Mister Cooper."
The man hung up.
The next message was Simon's mother again, but he ignored it as he looked at the paper in his hand.
The list of names was familiar. All but two were names he had already thought of when deciding who should be recruited for the group. Each name had a date, time and location next to them.
Where to find them and when.
Some even had further notes as to how to approach.
"What the hell is going on?" asked Simon, looking back up to Sad who still held out a hand from which the key dangled.
"We have somewhat mutual aims, Mister Cooper," said Sad.
Simon narrowed his eyes.
"You know this isn't just about Bush43. Not anymore."
"It was never just about Bush43," said Sad.
Simon waited a moment and then reached out and plucked the key from Sad's finger, quickly pocketing it.
With a slow nod, Sad turned toward the door and Happy hoisted himself out of the couch and started to do the same.
"Here ya go," said Happy tossing something to Simon which he snatched out of the air. Simon was speechless as he looked at the wad of money in his hand. "A donation to the cause," said Happy with a wide grin.
And Happy followed Sad out the front door and closed it behind him.
***
McHale's Pub was nowhere near being a pub, nor was there a McHale in the place let alone as part of the ownership or management. It was a name. And the pub was a bar. And while the bar was almost as run down as the place where Simon had found himself the night before, it was considerably busier. And rowdier.
So McHale's hired a bouncer who got off about an hour after the place closed.
That's when Simon approached the man.
"Roger Thompson?" asked Simon as he approached the man that walked from McHale's.
He was easily twice Simon's size in weight and was a good head taller. He turned to Simon slowly, his eyes small and dark but not nearly as imposing as one would expect.
"Yes?" said Roger as he crooked his head to stretch his neck, popping a few vertebrae in the process. His accent was not local but also not as strong as it probably once was. Fifteen years out of Austria will do that.
"Also known as Strongman?"
Roger's eyes narrowed.
"You a cop?"
"No," said Simon, knowing why Roger asked.
"Because if you are a cop and you're asking you're leading me," said Roger, stepping towards Simon, pulling himself taller as he did so, trying to be more foreboding. But Simon stood his ground.
"I am not a cop," said Simon. "I'm a like minded individual with a proposition for you."
"Like minded how?" asked Roger.
"Like minded in that I'm willing to fight for what I want and take it, even if it isn't mine to take."
Roger stopped and paused for a moment, then shook his head.
"I don't believe we are to be associating, if you are what I think you are. And if you are proposing what I think you are proposing then I know we aren't supposed to be associating. So, no," he said and he turned and started away.
Simon ran up beside him.
"You haven't even heard me out," he said, trying to get Roger to stop and listen.
"I don't do that anymore, no, I'm done."
"You're not done, you just think you are," said Simon, walking alongside Roger. "You've got something and you should use it."
"I am using it."
"To what? Baby-sit a bunch of drunks? Roger, I've got something lined up that will change everything. We're looking at something that will make a difference and help us in ways you could only dream of."
Simon just let it out. The idea was barely a day old and he was preaching it.
Time was of the essence.
"I'm not interested." Roger kept walking.
Simon hesitated and almost broke off, but thought of the piece of paper in his pocket and the message on his machine.
"I'm talking about something bigger than revenge, Roger," said Simon. "All of those people who put you here, made you a bouncer, forced you into some shit job instead of simply getting out of your way, all of them will see how right you were, how strong you were. We're gifted, folks like you and me. We're better than the rest of them. But they don't see that. We'll make them see that, Roger. Just give me a chance here."
Roger stopped and turned to Simon, breathing in deep and letting his body do the talking for a few tense moments before he finally spoke.
"I told you I am not interested," said Roger, "and if you keep this up I will have to hurt you."
"All I want's an opportunity to explain myself," said Simon, standing toe to toe with Roger. "Give me that much, that's all I ask."
"No," said Roger and he turned and started to walk away.
"Don't be such a fuckin' coward!" shouted Simon after him. Roger froze on that, just like Simon knew he would, just like the list said he would.
Roger slowly turned around and glared at Simon. "You have twenty seconds," he said through clenched teeth. "And then I kick your ass."
***
"What'd you do to your eye?"
Frank Sign was never one for subtly and the smile on his face said he knew it and didn't care.
"We got muscle," said Simon as he sat in the booth across from Frank and next to Tracy Pine. Simon noted his pants not sticking to the seat and was pleased.
He looked over the door of Step Down as it opened and made eye contact with the man who walked in, cocking his head back slightly in acknowledgement.
"That him?" asked Tracy, leaning over Simon slightly for a better look.
"Yep," he responded.
"So who is this guy?" asked Tracy as she watched the man walk up to the bar.
"His name is Roger Thompson, went by Strongman," said Simon, stopping as a waitress approached, ordering a drink while she sat Tracy's and Frank's down.
"Why haven't I heard of him before?" asked Tracy after the waitress left
"HeendeduponthewrongendofacouplefightswithBush," said Frank quickly as he brought his beer to his mouth.
Simon closed his eyes and wished that Frank would keep his mouth shut. He once again questioned whether or not Frank should be included in the group and once again resigned that, yes, Frank should be. His speed would be useful.
Speed. Seduction. Shock. Strength.
Only a few more and they'd have a full team.
Roger stepped from the bar with a beer in hand and headed toward their table. Frank quickly shifted over to give him room to sit.
"Roger," said Simon, "this is Tracy and Frank."
"Howyadoin?" said Frank as he extended a hand to Roger that was completely ignored.
Roger simply nodded to the group and drank.
"Alright," said Simon, digging into his pocket and pulling out a key, setting it on the table for all to see.
"What'sthat?" asked Frank, reaching out for it. Simon covered it with his hand.
"That's the key to our future," he said, picking it up and holding it for all to see. "This is the key to a warehouse out by the harbor where we'll train."
"AFortressofSolitude!" said Frank with a huge grin.
Simon closed his eyes and begged for patience.
"Not exactly," said Simon, pulling the key back and pocketing it. "But it's a place for us to meet and prepare."
"Is this it?" asked Tracy, looking to the other three one at a time.
"No," said Simon, "we've got a few more." Simon stopped as the waitress came back and set his drink in front of him. He asked to borrow a pen which she pulled out of a pocket and handed to him. He watched her leave for a bit before continuing. "Alright," Simon said, reaching into his back pocket and pulling out the piece of paper he had been given the night before, "Tracy, I need you to do me a favor tomorrow."
"Wait, what's the game plan?" asked Tracy.
"The game plan is we finish recruiting," said Simon as he grabbed a napkin and started to write down a name an address. "Then we start working together."
"So this is you trying to convince me?"
Simon stopped and looked up and into those blue eyes and somehow ignored their beauty.
"Yes." Tracy opened her mouth to say something else but Simon held up a hand. "Look, if you're hesitant, fine, so am I, so are we all, but you're in, you've got to be in, because if you're not this whole thing folds now."
"What about walking away with no hard feelings?" Tracy asked, narrowing her eyes.
"Things have changed," said Simon, looking back to the napkin and finishing his writing. "I need you to get this girl," he said, sliding the napkin towards Tracy. "Problem is she's hold up in a woman's shelter run by Catholics downtown. And she's not all that sane."
"And you want me to recruit her?" asked Tracy with a cocked eyebrow.
"Not want," said Simon. "Need."
Simon tucked the folded paper back into his pocket and came out with his wallet, pulling out a few bills and setting them in front of Tracy.
"And pick yourself up some ear plugs along the way. You're gonna need them."
"Teapot?"
"You'll probably have more success calling her Mary," said Simon as he tucked his wallet back.
"And this third name?"
"Her real name, but she probably won't recognize it. Look, I need you to get this girl, alright? Do what you have to do to convince her but convince her."
"Why the sudden need?" asked Tracy.
"Yeah," seconded Frank, "I mean, I thought this was all thrown together, we should be able to make do with what we can get, right?"
Simon shook his head.
"If this is going to work we're going to have to go according to plan and plan requires us to have this girl. And she's not the only one. You guys," said Simon as he pointed to Frank and Roger, "are gonna help me with someone else."
***
Simon and Frank stopped and looked at the building across the street.
"You're sure he's in here?" asked Frank, shaking his head as he looked up and down the building.
The Pacific City Police Department headquarters was located a block from Carpenter Square and the Paper District. There wasn't much to the place, just another drab brick building in a block full of them. The only difference was the building's contents.
And besides the obvious presence of police there were also a few criminals held in cells between trips to the courthouse or prison elsewhere.
"Yes, I'm sure," said Simon, certain because a piece of paper told him so.
"So when's Roger supposed to be here?"
Simon looked to his watch and then back at the headquarters.
"Ten minutes."
"And when's the show start?"
"Fifteen."
"Sweet."
***
Tracy Pine stood awkwardly by the desk while the girl sitting there talked into the phone.
She wasn't sure whether her nervousness came from what she was doing or simply being in a facility run by Catholic nuns.
She looked around for a bit and then simply decided to stare at the girl behind the desk who stared right back. After a few moments the girl hung up and cleared her throat.
"Sister Catherine Eileen will be with you shortly, Miss Werthers," said the girl and Tracy smiled.
"Thank you," said Tracy.
While the information Simon had given her on Teapot was sparse, Werthers was enough to get her started.
Tracy waited a few more moments before a nun emerged from a door to the back of the room and smiled. The nun approached Tracy and held out a hand for her to shake. Tracy hesitated and then reached out and shook Sister Catherine Eileen's hand.
The nun noticed but did not remark on Tracy's cloth gloves.
"Pleasure to meet you, Miss Werthers," said Sister Catherine Eileen as she cupped Tracy's hands. "I'm so glad to see you."
"I'm sorry for any trouble, Sister," said Tracy, returning the nun's smile. "We've been worried sick about our dear Julia."
"Will I'm afraid she's in a bit of a state," said Sister Catherine Eileen as she started to lead Tracy into the back. "She seems very depressed and we've been very worried for her. And she does not seem to remember much, not even her name, the poor dear."
"Yes," said Tracy, "we've been trying to help her for so long. But she can be so stubborn about treatments."
"Oh my, yes," said Sister Catherine Eileen with a nod as they walked down a hallway. "She was very insistent about not having any doctors involved. We were about to call on them anyway, but then you arrived this morning."
"I'm just glad she was able to find a warm and welcoming home."
"We were more than happy to help her, though I'm sorry we could not do more for her."
Sister Catherine Eileen stopped and turned to a door and opened it to a small bedroom. There, sitting on a bed on the far wall, as a thin woman balled up in the center of the mattress, staring out at the foot of the bed, rocking slightly.
"Teapot, dear," said Sister Catherine Eileen as she came into the room, "you have a visitor."
The woman in the bed whipped her head around to look at her company, red hair flailing, green eyes wide. Sister Catherine Eileen stepped aside and the girl locked eyes with Tracy.
She looked frightened and anxious, but also angry and ready to lash out.
Tracy approached her slowly, a smile on her face.
"Hello, Julia," said Tracy and Teapot's eyes got impossibly wider. Tracy slowly rolled the gloves off her hands. "Do you remember me?"
Teapot shook her head quickly but otherwise did not move.
Of course you don't, thought Tracy, but she did not say that.
She stopped by the bed and crouched down to be eye level with Teapot who loosed out of the fetal position she sat in.
"I'm here to take you home, Julia," said Tracy. "Would you like to go home?"
"Home?" asked Teapot softly, tears coming to her eyes, red tears.
"Yes, Julia, home. Would that make you happy?"
Teapot looked from Tracy to Sister Catherine Eileen who simply smiled back and nodded.
"I... I don't know..." said Teapot, shifting slightly in her bed.
"Julia," said Tracy, reaching out and laying a hand on Teapot's.
The girl's mood changed drastically, from tense and frightened to suddenly loose, a smile spreading on her face, her eyes lighting up. The smile shifted, her lips parting slightly, a whisper gently pushing through.
"Oh yesss...."
Tracy smiled wide.
***
"We doing this?" asked Roger Thompson as he looked to the two men in front of him.
Frank stared over Roger's shoulder and at the police headquarters, trying not to bring any attention to himself or his group, his foot tapping very quickly as he was ready to go.
Simon looked to his watch and then back to the building.
"Any time now."
"Whatarewewaitingfor?" asked Frank.
"That," said Simon, nodding towards the building.
Roger turned and looked as Frank saw what Simon meant. Cars started to pull out from the alley beside the building as other officers stepped into and stopped traffic.
A caravan began to leave the headquarters, two police cars, a van and then one more car.
"He'll be in the van," said Simon, flexing his fingers. "Remember, get Dean and then we run like hell."
Simon stepped past Roger and into the street, towards the closest cop directing traffic.
"Excuse me, officer," he said. The cop turned towards him and came face first into Simon's hand, electricity leaping around it.
Before he hit the ground Simon turned and pointed both of his hands at the front car in the caravan, a bolt flying and striking the car, lights exploding, passengers frying, Simon smiling. Simon turned to the second car as soon as it came to a stop and started frying it.
The last car in the caravan stopped and officers stepped out only to be picked up and thrown headfirst into the ground one at a time. Frank slowed down to observe his handiwork, smiled, nodded, and then sped off towards a nearby cop who almost had his gun drawn.
Roger ran towards the van and to the back door, grabbing the handle and wrenching the whole thing off its hinges. He quickly stepped to the side to get out of the way of guns pointed at him and shouted to Simon who was busy frying a couple of officers who had stepped out of the police department.
Roger moved away from the van as Simon turned his attention there and let loose with a light shock, strong enough to be felt, light enough to only knock out the passengers instead of simply kill them outright.
Roger went back to the van and smiled at it's now out cold contents and grabbed the man inside who was dressed in orange. As Roger was climbing out of the back of the van, Frank stopped and looked at the man he was carrying, nodded, and then ran off to Simon.
"Wegothim," said Frank as he paused by Simon.
"I'll cover you guys," said Simon as he pointed and shocked yet another officer. "Get out of here. I'll meet up with you all at the point."
"Gotit," said Frank and he was off.
Simon kept the smile on his face as he kept pointing and shooting electricity all around.
This was good.
This was power.
This was going to work.
And he laughed.