Galilee Rising(61)

"Emperor Cain" first appeared four and a half years ago by planting a bomb in Jem's hospital then taunting the heroes on TV. The oldies never die. There were several more bombings and taunts until, as soon as he arrived, Cain vanished. The Triumvirate announced he was gone for good and left it at that. The real story is they cornered him in a warehouse, Cain knocked them out, and vanished into thin air. Why he didn't kill them hell if I know but a year and a half later he resurfaced. For his opening act, he set off Sarin gas at a charity gala, then set up a series of elaborate traps for the team. He attempted to drown Tempest by flooding a sewer, burning Liberty at the botanical gardens, gassing Jem at the gala, and between those crimes blowing them up a few more times just for shits and giggles. Guess he regretted leaving them alive the previous time.

The good news was they caught him, the bad was before he could be processed, he escaped custody and went underground. It came as no real surprise when he returned for a command performance a year later. He made the heroes jump through hoops just to toy with them. These hoops included kidnapping the First Lady, who Justice helped find. The three weeks he was active that time came to a head when the superteam plus one caught him attempting to hijack a plane. They managed to save the passengers, but the plane took off with Nightingale and Cain still aboard. Only Nightingale returned. Everyone thought that was the end of him. Until yesterday.

I'm not sure how long I'm down here, but long enough to get eyestrain. Time to stop. I pull myself away from Doris and flop on the leather couch with my eyes shut. What I need is a plan. I know they want to freeze me out for my own protection, but many have tried and all have failed with that maneuver. No one dictates my life. This asshole's in my town, blowing up my bridge, and keeping Jem from…he's going down. I just don't have a clue as to how.

Think. He's using local talent so I can discreetly put out feelers to old CIs and childhood friends and ask them to keep their ears open. My fucked up childhood in Diablo's Ward has to be worth something. I'm sure the Triumvirate can hit the local henchmen hangouts I already clued them into. I may be a partner in this endeavor, but I want to remain as silent a one as possible. I'm stubborn but I ain't stupid or suicidal. Anymore.

Thinking of stupid. An idea comes to me that makes me grimace. There is one person who can really help, but I'm not quite sure the gains exceed the costs. Or that he'd assist us. Or that I'm strong enough to even start that ball rolling. He did work with both accomplices and all but controlled the underworld for years. It wouldn't surprise me if their paths crossed at least once. Might be worth a shot. Just need to visit the Wizard for some courage.

My eyes open when I hear footsteps descending the ramp. Lexie, in her designer pink jumpsuit, stops when she spots me. She frowns. "Bren owes me ten bucks."

"Why?"

"I bet him I'd find you down here," she says as she struts over to my couch. "Scoot." I remove my legs and she flops down next to me with a long sigh. "I am freaking exhausted. We finally gave up wailing on punks around four this morning. Got nothing to show for it but bruised knuckles. Ruined my manicure, see?" She holds out her chipped nails. "Don't know why I even bother." She lowers her hand, glances at me, and half smiles. "Guess we need to talk, huh?"

"If you say so."

"I do." She crosses her long legs. "This whole situation sucks, huh? All of it. Cain's like the one person on this earth who scares the shit out of me. You know Brendan actually died when he flooded that sewer? If I hadn't shown up and performed CPR, that would have been it. When he woke up, sputtering disgusting water all over me, that was the moment I realized I was in love with him, you know? Our first kiss was in that sewer." She shakes her head. "Anyway, I know it's pointless, but I wouldn't be a good friend if I didn't warn you away from this one. You're already too exposed, don't want to make it worse. He finds out about you, and that's it. We might as well fit you for a toe-tag, especially since Nightingale's…you know, fond of you."

"I don't have a death wish. I'm not going to advertise my involvement. And despite what you think, I am good at keeping secrets," I say, narrowing my eyes.

She looks away with a sigh. "We probably would have told you. Eventually."

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence."

"What? I can count on half a hand the people who know. My own sister doesn't even have a clue. It's need to know, and you didn't, okay? Don't take it personally." She pauses. "How long have you known?"

"Jem for about a month, you and Brendan the day you took down Boneshaker. The blonde wig's a nice touch, but you have the same posture and phrasing as both."