Dixie didn’t stay to talk after that. She dived over the ledge, flew down two floors to rescue Destruction Boy, and left through the hole on the third floor.
As her feet left the ledge, I activated the roachbots I’d released earlier. They had a chance to catch her.
Jaclyn appeared out of the stairwell, and leaned over the edge of the walkway, watching them go.
Continue reading Under 30: Part 17
I sent everybody a red, and a message. Then I ran back to the lab, and started to put on the Rocket suit.
I’d spent a lot of time fixing and modifying the Rocket suit that summer, but I hadn’t spent much time figuring out how to get it on faster. You know how the armor comes from all directions and attaches itself in the Iron Man movies? I needed that.
The portable briefcase version wouldn’t have hurt either. Continue reading Under 30: Part 14
“Are you crazy? Don’t you see a difference between killing a guy because he’s trying to kill you, and killing him when he’s practically dead?”
Sean reddened.
“He was a killer, and I stopped him. You weren’t going to. I did what had to be done. What were you going to do, hand him over to the cops? He’d only escape again.”
“I don’t know what I was going to do. All I know is that you didn’t kill him because you think the system doesn’t work. You were going for revenge.” Continue reading The Executioner: Part 11
Mom’s arms were on the other side of the chair from where Rachel and I stood, but if she were hoping to get away, those ropes had to go next.
Glancing near the legs of her chair told me no more ropes lay on the far side.
I thought she might be waiting for a better chance, but then I realized that this was it. For the first time since I’d arrived, no one held a gun to her head. Continue reading The Executioner: Part 7
Looking like Gunther had in every picture I’d ever seen of him–tall, brushcut, and muscular, I didn’t see why Ray would look forward to his appearance.
As Haley stepped through the door, Ray said something, his voice low, and intense.
The white circle that had been painted on the floor flared, making everything outside the circle a shade lighter. Simultaneously, the walls of the room turned reddish, including the open doorway behind Haley. Continue reading The Executioner: Part 6
Ray kept the gun pointed at my mom, but acted as if we were making small talk at the Christmas party.
“So you know I’ve done jobs for the Chicago Outfit, right? I got a job to kill Night Wolf a few years back. Night Wolf had been retired for years by then, and the client was old, so I took it because it sounded like easy money. If he was still alive, he had to be in his 80’s.
Continue reading The Executioner: Part 5
It didn’t take long. The helmet probably adjusted more quickly than my eyes did.
At first I only saw silhouettes, and lines of brightness in the windows where the boards weren’t quite flush.
Instants later, I saw more than I wanted. Continue reading The Executioner: Part 4
Further out from the city of Grand Lake, cottages and big houses dominated the coastline closest to Lake Michigan.
From the state park northward, aside from the houses, the landscape seemed to be all trees.
Sean and the truck disappeared into the bulge of a forested dune near Northshore Drive.
Even in the distance, I could hear a crashing noise.
No explosion though. Continue reading The Executioner: Part 3
Next to me, Rachel said, “Does he really think he’s going to stop Ray by himself?”
I didn’t say anything. I’d pulled up my communicator. They’d given Sean one, and he’d managed not to trash it yet. I clicked, and got a GPS view of the team including Sean’s dot.
He was flying toward the address Gimpius had given us. Continue reading The Executioner: Part 2
It’s a bit of an understatement to say that Sean wouldn’t have been my first choice of companions.
I decided to ignore him, and texted Jaclyn.
Me: Can you check my dad’s office?
Jaclyn: I’ll do it. Should I meet you if he’s okay?
I was about to send her the address, but Rachel said, “What if Ray touches her?” Continue reading The Executioner: Part 1