Hope Comes to Brockton Bay
Part 12
"This is how it happened. The Undersiders subverted Shadow Stalker, and Hope very kindly brought her back to us – the murder attempt was all too real, and so distracted us from the actual deception. Skitter had bugs concealed on Shadow Stalker, something that could wriggle into the inner workings of her shock-cuffs and short-circuit them. Our techs found charred insect bodies inside the cuffs."
Miss Militia paused to make sure that Director Piggot was taking this in, then went on. "Shadow Stalker was never actually sedated; Regent was merely making her play possum until she 'came to', and then she was abusive to everyone who came past, so that she could not be questioned and tripped up. After all, a prisoner is not usually a security risk. She got free, took out the guards, got her weapons, took out the guards at the security station, and let the Undersiders in through the front door. They were already inside when a guard came to the security station and saw Shadow Stalker before she saw him. She tranked him, but not before he had a chance to hit the duress alarm. The damage to the security station happened in the ensuing battle.
"And the rest you know."
Director Piggot steepled her fingers before her and stared at the head of the Brockton Bay Protectorate contingent. After a long moment, she said, "So, was it ignorance or complicity?"
Miss Militia blinked. "I beg your pardon?"
"With regard to our newest recruit," said Director Piggot patiently. "She is the one who brought Shadow Stalker right into our midst after she, Shadow Stalker, had been subverted. I am told that Hope has many and varied powers, some of which venture quite close to actual mind reading. Did the Undersiders fool her, or was she cooperating with them in their scheme?"
Miss Militia considered this. "I have spoken to Hope, at length, on this subject," she said. "I, personally, believe that she was taken in by their deception. Remember that Tattletale is a very adept manipulator, and while Hope isn't particularly gullible, nor is she overly suspicious. She has a very honest outlook; I doubt that there is a deceptive bone in her body."
Hope clicked the mouse and the screen refreshed with another sheet of information on the Undersiders. She brought up another tab, and another, until the screen was a confusing mass of data. Then she took the USB drive from her pocket and, with a guilty look around, inserted it into the slot.
There was only one folder on the drive; it was called, mundanely enough, "Homework". Hope clicked it open.
Inside the folder, Hope saw two files. One was a large word file marked "Statistics", while the other was a smaller text file entitled "Notes".
Hope considered this, clicked over a few more tabs of data, then brought up the drive folder again and clicked on "Notes".
Immediately, a small text box opened.
Hi, Hope.
Glad you finally got around to reading this.
Just so you know, when you had your talk with She Who Shall Not Be Named, all of the options she mentioned were viable – but she didn't necessarily tell you about the other things you could be doing with your life.
I mean, I'm about 99.999 percent sure you aren't about to make a career as a villain, but there are shades between "Protectorate Ward" and "villain" that she probably didn't cover for you.
Personally, I think everyone should have an honest choice.
So, in the other file, you will find a whole range of possibilities that are currently open to you. Because strangely enough, you are not legally compelled to do anything that She Who Must Be Obeyed tells you to do. You are only there because you chose to be. Would you like another choice? Have a look.
Best wishes,
Tt.
PS: if you want to meet and talk about, well, anything, there's a list of times and places we can get together. Because I really do think we need to talk.
Hope read it through three times, then took a notepad and scribbled down the places and times. Then she erased the text file.
Next, she opened the word file and started reading.
"My guess is," said Miss Militia, "that if Hope had not noticed Shadow Stalker sneaking out – and it was only by pure chance that she did – the Undersiders would have lured Shadow Stalker into a trap, where they could have subverted her at their leisure. And then ..." She shrugged. "Shadow Stalker comes back with the Undersiders as her prisoners, and brings them straight into the base."
"Would that have worked?" asked Director Piggot, a little warily. "Don't you have Master/Stranger protocols in place?"
"We do," confirmed Miss Militia, "but like all protocols, they depend on human judgement. And human judgement is fallible. Perhaps they would have caught the deception, perhaps not. We'll never know."
Hope sat back from the computer, her mind racing. She carefully popped the USB drive from the slot and slipped it into her pocket, then deleted tabs until she had only one screen of data showing.
As she scrolled down that page, there came a step behind her.
"Oh hey, Hope," said Clockblocker. "How are you feeling?"
"Not bad," replied Hope, her heart rate picking up. Had he seen the drive? "Hellhound's dog threw me around like a rag doll." She paused, then added, "I feel a bit embarrassed. I didn't do much of anything.You froze Grue, at least."
"Not that it helped, in the end," replied Clockblocker ruefully. "Good team support there with Flechette, by the way. And I heard about the foam. It really doesn't stick to you?"
Hope shrugged. "That's about the only thing I really did right," she said dismissively. "For the most part there, I was playing keep-away with a dog that could have played fetch with a Volkswagen Beetle."
Clockblocker chuckled. "For the most part, I was stuck in a mass of containment foam. So count yourself lucky." He leaned over the back of her chair. "What are you reading up on?"
"The Undersiders," replied Hope truthfully. "I hadn't had the chance to read their files, but since I've had two close encounters with them inside twelve hours, I thought I should get caught up on who they are and what they can do."
"They're a goddamn nightmare to fight, that's what they are," said Clockblocker feelingly. "I went up against them, along with Kid Win, Aegis, Glory Girl, Panacea, Vista, Gallant and Browbeat. That was when they pulled that bank job awhile back. We outnumbered them eight to five, not counting those damn dogs, and they still got away. Skitter and Tattletale took out Glory Girl and Panacea all by themselves."
His tone became serious. "You might think controlling bugs is a stupid power. Don't. Imagine every time you've ever had a bug walk across the back of your neck, then multiply that by a thousand. And imagine that every bug knows exactly what it's doing. Scared? You should be. Skitter's the most recent member of the Undersiders, but in some ways she's by far the scariest. Every bug you've ever had the heebie-jeebies about, she's got a dozen waiting just to freak you out with."
"I'll remember," said Hope, quietly. "When I saw her ... after I woke up. She was just staring at me. Blank eyes. It gave me the creeps."
Clockblocker nodded and clapped her on the shoulder. "Well, that's the right attitude," he said. "Let me know the next time you're due to go out on patrol. That last time was a blast."
Hope shrugged slightly. "I've been taken off patrols for the time being," she said quietly. "Until they can determine whether I'm trustworthy or not, I guess. After all, the Undersiders have walked away from me twice."
Clockblocker's snort echoed inside his helmet. "Yeah, right," he said. "See you around, Hope." He walked off. Hope watched him go, then turned back to her screen.
Hellhound. Real name: Rachel Lindt. Classification: Striker, possible Master ...
The late afternoon sun glinted on Hope's wings as she swooped in toward the Boardwalk. She beat her wings once, made a perfect landing, and furled her wings.
With some interest, she looked around at the view. Off to the east, the ocean, or rather the eponymous Brockton Bay. Along the Boardwalk, various kiosks sold foodstuffs or souvenirs. In a damaged city, life still went on.
People were staring or taking pictures. She smiled, opened her wings a little, and posed just a little. The Protectorate had spread the word that she was not the Simurgh's little sister, but it never hurt to spread a little PR.
Finally, she strolled over to the nearest kiosk; it sold hot sausages in a bun. As Hope sorted through her change, a teenaged girl stepped in beside her. "I'd recommend the fried onion," she said. "It's delicious."
"Thank you, I will," replied Hope, and got some.
As they walked away, the girl with a cola and her own sausage, Hope said tentatively, "Are you ..."
"Tattletale," said the girl. "That's me." She gave Hope her vulpine grin. "No hard feelings about the Shadow Stalker thing, I hope?"
"That," said Hope severely, "was mean. But I know you didn't plan specifically to get me in trouble. So no, no hard feelings." She paused. "What is it that you want to talk to me about? I mean, I've read the file you sent me, and I see now what you were hinting to me about, but what do youwant to talk to me about?"
"Your future," said Tattletale. "I've known for some time that there's trouble down the line for Brockton Bay and the world. You change some things. Your very presence alters probabilities. Some things are no longer certain." She eyed Hope keenly. "I want to talk to you at length, with the rest of the Undersiders there as well. Even a chance remark might open up new information. But we can't do that here and now. Are you interested in meeting the rest of the group, just to talk?"
Hope felt as though she were walking a tightrope over an abyss. One misstep could spell doom.
She made a leap of faith. "Sure," she said. "Let's do it."
To be continued ...
