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Chapter Six
Maximus closed his laboratory doors. Not physically of course, that would be so pedestrian. He may be forced into a second rate rat hole but his laboratory was still state of the art.
It gnawed at him like a hungry mutt with a bone. How far he had fallen, the ignominy of it all. He was one of the premier Superbeing scientists. He signed off on Fellowships, controlled purse strings. His favor was completed for.
Now he was manufacturing illicit drugs and abducting children. It was almost humorous.
He learned the error of his way. He challenged the Council without the means to enforce his will. The Heroes squashed the Intellectuals, as usual.
He would take steps to ensure that never happened to him again.
He poured himself a gin and tonic. Everything had gone according to plan. He now had a very powerful bargaining chip. He'd put a sedative in the wine. He was careful about the amount of drug he mixed with the alcohol. He had the antidote available, but giving it to the boy would have been no easy feat. If they hadn't consumed the wine he would have had to resort to gas..
It was a coup. The son of the Commander and Jetstream in his custody. His abduction would be the first topic of conversation at the morning briefing meetings of all the world leaders, both civilian and superpower. The supervillains would speak of it in hushed voices.
He had some of his associates (a fancy term for thugs) bind the children – the titanium metal had cut into his budget to a bothersome amount, but it was necessary. They were placed in large trunks and his people, dressed like any other hotel guests, rolled the trunks out of the hotel and into a waiting van. It would be hours before the alarm was raised. He had run an electric scanning device over the teenagers before they left. The girl had never been fitted with a tracking device. The boy had, but it was hopelessly broken – it probably hadn't survived his power surge.
Five hours later, the children were still unconscious. Maximus had been monitoring their breathing. The boy was showing signs of coming around. The van entered a derelict warehouse in a seedier part of East Gotham. Hendrickson, an illegitimate son of a Hero, pressed the remote that caused part of the floor to drop away.
Grunting, his men carried the prisoners downwards. They were secured in a storeroom. The room was rough concrete and terribly dusty. There were no obvious cracks in the walls. The girl would have nothing to work with. The boy was his main concern but reports indicated the girl was not as fragile as she appeared. He ordered the boy's ankle be chained to a titanium-reinforced bracket on the floor. Someone, probably Jon, had placed a mattress and some blankets in the corner of the room. Behind a metal barrier was a commode and sink.
They were dropped on the mattress. The girl was dead to the world. The boy appeared to be in a drunken stupor. He reached for her, wrapping his arm around her waist. Maximus looked at the children without brutality or pity. They were handsome children, beloved by their parents. "I want them given adequate food and water. Keep the temperature sixty degrees. Do not touch either of them?" It had not gone unnoticed by any of the men that the girl was quite beautiful.
He was broken from his thoughts by a small beep at the door. He was fairly certain he knew who it was. The door swung back, admitting Lightening Bolt.
"You wanted something, Roger." Lightening Bolt was a Supervillain with the power to propel electrical bolts. He was currently in charge of funneling Maximus the equipment he needed. Since much of the equipment was on prohibited lists, a villain was needed for the job. He was in it for power, plan and simply. Maximus liked that about him. He was uncomplicated.
He looked part impressed, par chagrined. "I have to hand it to you. When Jon told me what you did?" he shook his head. "Have you decided on a ransom figure?"
"I'm not planning on ransoming them, but I suppose I should think of a figure just to throw Command off our track."
"Well, the boy could be sold for twenty million easy. The breeding potential alone is enormous."
Maximus took a swig of his drink. Roger poured himself a vodka.
"There is one part of this which worries me? You should have killed the girl's aunt."
"She boarded a jet for Germany this morning. Even if she recovers her moral balance, she doesn't know the location of this facility. I want them to waste time chasing her. She has no information of value."
Sky High Sky High Sky High Sky High Sky High Sky High Sky High
"Warren," Victoria Peace called from the doorway. "Warren," she repeated his name, louder this time.
"Huh," Warren squinted at the light pouring in from his open bedroom door.
"Josie Stronghold's on the phone. She needs to talk to you."
Warren's eyes darted toward his bedside clock. The red neon flashed 12:20 am. Will's mother wouldn't be calling him at this time to night to ask him to pick her up a souvenir from the Louvre. He threw his legs over the bed. His mother handed him the cordless phone.
"I'm on," he said tersely.
Josie sounded part scared, part embarrassed. It was like she hadn't made up her mind what kind of a state she should be in.
"Do you know where Will is?"
"No. What's going on?"
"Maybe I'm making a big deal of nothing, but he was suppose to be home at eleven. I can't reach him on the phone. That's what really worries me. Natalie doesn't have any idea where they are either."
"Who else have you talked to?"
"Zach, Magenta, Ethan, Will's cousins. If anybody knows anything they're not saying."
"I'll be over in fifteen minutes," he hung up the phone then hunted for a clean pair of jeans and shirt.
"Call me as soon as you hear something?" Victoria had been in the Hero biz too long to not be aware of the ramifications of Will Stronghold being unaccounted for.
She grabbed Warren's arm. "Careful on the roads."
"I'll be okay." He grabbed his jacket and headed out the door.
If this is teenage rebellion, I'll be first in line to kill him. Will Stronghold was her son's friend. Warren made friends as easily as a miser parted with his gold. The friendship gave her son tranquility and a modicum of respectability. He and Layla were good kids.Victoria prayed she'd be listening to Josie complain about him tomorrow.
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Peace pulled up at the Stronghold resident maybe ten minutes later. Every light in the first floor seemed to be on.
Josie Stronghold greeted him at the door. He could tell the prodigal hadn't turned up.
He nodded to her and stepped into the house. The Commander – that's how Warren always thought of him – was prowling the confines of the living room. He looked grim. Over the years he'd gotten almost use to Steve Stronghold. It hit Warren suddenly: this was one of the most dangerous men on the planet.
The Commander wasn't the only one who was dangerous. If anybody had hurt Will or Layla, they may not live, but they would regret it.
Warren went over to Layla's mother. Natalie Williams had always been nice to him.
"We haven't heard anything yet?" she told him. "I found Layla's cell in her room. She often doesn't take it with her if she is with Will. He always has his."
She took a deep breath. "Even if . . . even if something has happened I just wish we knew." Her face crumpled. Josie came over and guided her to the couch.
"Have you called security yet?" Warren questioned. "There must be some sort of protocol for this." The first hours are always the most important.
"We've called unofficially," Mr. Stronghold's voice was steady and calm. Warren found himself grateful for the man's stoicism. "They think Will and Layla are just goofing off. They're checking the local hospitals and the police scanners for anything that might be related to this. The supervillain prison reports no unusual activity. Intel same thing.
Local, what's local for Stronghold, Warren thought.
"Don't you have some sort of tracking device on him?" Warren asked. Jetstream in particular liked her electronic gadgets.
"It stopped working when Will powered up. Something about the waves not travelling through his skeletal system." Josie answered.
"I wish I'd thought of tagging Layla," Natalie said.
"You know," Warren had been mulling over how to bring this up on the way over. "Layla seemed a little quiet last night. I had a feeling something was on her mind."
Steve looked unimpressed. Josie took notice. Warren was too smart of a person to dismiss.
"Also, she insisted Will walk her home." The others in the room didn't grasp the implication. Warren fought back his impatience. "Will could barely move last night. I said I'd take her home, but she practically used the girlfriend's command to get him off that couch. She said she wanted to talk to him." Warren didn't know quite how to describe the look in her eyes. "Did you notice anything?" he directed the query at Natalie.
"No, but things have been a little chilly between Layla and me recently. Teenagers, they think they know everything."
Look," Steve took a deep breath. "There is a simple explanation."
"Steve," Josie said warningly.
"You think they fell asleep afterwards?" Warren said dryly.
"It's possible." Josie and Natalie both glared at him. He returned the look. "You two can lecture and guilt trip the kids all you want, but they are teenagers and THAT is a force of nature."
The pyro sighed. He knew this was a prickly subject with Layla's mother. "Will was tired of waiting."
"I just didn't want her to make the same mistakes I did?" Warren didn't know if she talking to him or herself.
The minutes ticked by. No one said anything. At one am Natalie Williams made the decision.
"Steve, called Command Central and tell them you think Will's been abducted."
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COMMAND CENTRAL: EAST COAST, NORTH AMERICA DIVISION
"Sir," one of the interns, Lori, knocked on her boss's door. It was little more than a glorified cubical. The wall was decorated with citations and pictures of famous baseball players.
"The Commander is on line one for you," she squeaked out. It was third shift. There were a lot of newbies on watch.
He showed a modicum of surprise before dismissing her. He grasped the phone. He knew this call could make or break his career. "Yes, Commander. This is Gregory Stark."
"Mr. Stark, are you the highest ranking officer on active duty in security?"
"Yes sir, I am. I hold lieutenant rank."
"My son and his girlfriend cannot be accounted for. Curfew was eleven. Will knows a half-hour or so will be tolerated, but not this long. He cannot be reached. It has been drilled into him to always carry his communication device. His friends claim no knowledge of his whereabouts. They're good kids. Will has never done this before, but he is seventeen and I have been riding him a little hard recently."
"I see." The teenage son of two of the world's most powerful Superheroes is missing, but maybe he's making out with his girlfriend somewhere. Joy and delight. The night log states you've already made an unofficial call. My people have been checking local hospitals, police departments. No leads. Your son can fly, I believe." Stark thought of all the enemies the Commander and Jetstream had made over the years. "Sir, you know your son better than I do. Do you want me to initiate a Category 1 Child Abduction?"
"Yes."
"When can you and your wife be here?"
"Ten minutes."
After ending the phone call Stark pulled away the clear aluminum cover encasing five gleaming switches. He pressed the first one. The effect was instantaneous. A red klaxon blazed to life.
The twenty of so security/technical staff on watch all spun as one to the alarms.
He left his office to address them. The room was buzzing with conversation.
He held up his hand. The room fell silent. "Everyone look at your console please. We are working under the assumption that the minor son of the Commander and Jetstream and his girlfriend have been abducted. These facts have yet to be verified. All relevant personal information will be available in under sixty seconds. Johnson, start protocol search one. Majara, I want a detailed listing of the most dangerous supervillains who may have a grudge against this family. Oslie: check the security tapes over the last three-month of any chatter. Wehymeier: look for a civilian terrorist connection. Wickets: check the internal security logs – do we have any on going investigations which may have baring on this.
Majara raised her hand. She was in her mid forties – a lifer who thrives at night. "I need assistance to complete that report in under an hour. "
"I'll call computer support for back up. I will also be notifying Major Logan. He will probably come in with his people." It was a credit to Stark's professionalism that he kept his voice even. Everyone knew he and Logan mixed like oil and water.
"Olson," the same timid girl who had first told him the Commander was on the phone raised her hand. "Keep scanning civilian airways for accidents, natural disasters. The boy has his mother's power so they could theoretically be anywhere."
"You," he pointed to a kid barely out of school. "What's your name?"
He stood a little taller. "Kevin Jenkins, sir."
"You went to Sky High?"
Kevin nodded, "Yes."
"Call Principal Powers. You'll find the number under educational support in the computer. Tell her what has happened. Ask her to call the kid's teachers. Do they have any insight into this? The school is a hotbed of gossip. The girl's name is Layla Williams. Her mother is the Z-Translator.
Baker, Shambaro, Shmiato will be heading up the physical search. I expect the parents here soon. After we interview them, we should have a better idea what we are up against.
"People, I want a plan of action within the hour."
