By the time the guy and his severed leg hit the ground, I’d already rolled away. Given what I’d seen in his fight with Jaclyn, I couldn’t rule out the possibility that he might be able to grab me, and crush the life out me.
I stood up, keeping myself out of arm’s reach.
Continue reading Legio: Part 8
Vaughn started coughing as I landed next to him on the roof.
“Got a big breath of hot air and smoke,” he said.
“You think you’ll be okay?”
“Yeah. It’s my own fault, anyway.”
It wasn’t really his fault, but when you depend on wind to fly, it’s not much of a surprise if the wind carries smoke along too.
Continue reading Legio: Part 7
The house sat just off Lake Street. It was big — not Hardwick House big, but eighteenth century “big enough for a family of eight, plus servants” big.
I’d heard somewhere that back then, people built the larger houses on main roads, and at the ends of side streets just off the main roads. It was easier to catch the trolley that way, making the houses more desirable, and thus they were built for people who were better off.
Continue reading Legio: Part 6
Daniel arrived before the police, checked out the unconscious men’s minds, and then concentrated on the van.
“They were all blocked,” Daniel said. “I wasn’t awed by the work. Whoever did it, didn’t have as much power or fine control as I do, but given those limitations, it was sophisticated. It would take me hours of work to get anywhere, and I couldn’t be sure I got everything.
“Fortunately for us,” he continued, “they didn’t do any thing to block impressions from building up in the van. So I’ve got the address.”
“Great,” Cassie said. “Let’s go.”
Continue reading Legio: Part 5
As I slowed down, preparing to land, I felt the wind pushing at me from the right. Checking over my shoulder told me exactly what I suspected. Vaughn flew toward me, catching up.
I landed the usual way, turning my body so that my feet were toward the ground. I gave it a little more fuel, straightening me out, and moving upward before lowering myself to the ground.
Vaughn landed at about the same time.
Continue reading Legio: Part 4
Mr. Drucker didn’t look satisfied by Vaughn’s uncle’s reply, but he didn’t keep on arguing either.
I couldn’t tell whether it came from the table or from someone outside the roachbot’s view, but someone asked, “What about the Heroes League?”
Continue reading Decisions: Part 9
We spent the next few days bugging the houses and cars of any family members Vaughn thought had connections to his family’s medical interests or worked in medicine.
Giles Hardwick, Vaughn’s grandfather, had had five kids and they’d each had two or three children of their own. Plus, he had a brother and two sisters and they’d had children and grandchildren too. Not all of them stayed in Grand Lake, but by the time we were done on Wednesday night, we’d bugged twenty different people.
Continue reading Decisions: Part 7
“But seriously,” he continued, “if you’re the new Heroes League, I’ve been looking for you.”
Travis looked Jack Maniac over, and said, “Why?”
“You’ve got something I want. I’m looking for a vehicle we used to own. It looks like a ball. You probably saw in the news a couple nights ago. I want it back. I heard that you’ve got it.”
Keeping my voice calm, I said, “From who?”
“Man-machine’s grandson. Nice kid. He was visiting his grandmother when we came over.”
“He’s okay, right?”
“Sure. He’s fine for now.”
Continue reading Rivalry: Part 13
“You bet. We’ll pass on whatever shows up,” Vaughn said. “Right, guys?” He looked over the rest of us.
I thought about replying. It seemed like a good idea, but maybe not immediately. I had time. Then I thought about it a little more.
+++
Me: We might be a little too calm.
Daniel: Crap. I was concentrating too hard on resisting him. You’re right.
+++
Continue reading Rivalry: Part 9
When we got back to the jet, I pulled the alert’s GPS data up, and headed toward downtown Grand Lake.
We flew westward through the sky, toward the sun as it moved lower, beginning to dip into Lake Michigan.
I gave them the short version of what Cannon had said as we flew home, but we didn’t get to really discuss it. Including the time it took to start the jet, it took ten minutes to get there.
We were too late, but in the best possible way.
Continue reading Rivalry: Part 8