And here comes Chapter 3! I hope you all are enjoying the story thus far...please drop me a REVIEW letting me know what you think! In chapter 3, the plot of the novel really thickens as we see what the bad guys are up to...enjoy!
Chapter 3:
THE SCHEME IS REVEALED
Nightblaze rode his flame powered motorcycle into an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of Crimson City. Once in the large dark building that had been lifeless for years, the hero drove XLR8 into the rusty old elevator. Once inside the small wired door that opened as Nightblaze approached and closed as he entered, Nightblaze pressed a button on his motorcycle. Suddenly the seemingly inactive elevator began to move downwards at a very quick speed. The elevator took Nightblaze into an underground cavern that he and Eric had made their base of operations once they had moved to Crimson City, a few months ago.
The secret cavern below the inactive warehouse was very spacious. Once Zach ensured the heroic duo a place to work, Eric quickly installed many high tech devices and a super computer that would help the two monitor their city and keep watch on any potential suspects. The two spent the majority of their nights in this cavern. While most the secret hideout was geared up with things to help Nightblaze fight crime, there was one room that the boys considered their "hang out room." In it there was a very large HD TV, a pool table, very comfortable couches, and a fridge that was always stocked with plenty of food and beverages.
Upon parking the XLR8, Zach jumped off his motorcycle and began walking towards Eric Summers, who was busy at his computer typing and running internet searches. As Zach approached his best friend since grade school, he pushed a button in on his watch which removed his eye mask from his costume.
"So…" Eric said casually as his pale blue eyes never left his computer screen and his fingers never stopped typing. "Did you do anything exciting tonight?"
"Different night, same story." Zach responded as he fell into the swivel chair next to Eric at the super computer. "A similar crime: Break-Ins that involve the theft of Adulium metal products…similar lackies: Brainless brutes with tattoos of red X's on their left arm, that don't put up much of a fight…similar ending: We still don't know the brains behind this operation or what they're wanting to do with the Adulium."
"Yes but we can at least say that they won't get ALL the Adulium that they need tonight, thanks to you!" Eric tried to add cheer to the dismal conversation. "There has to be some kind of connection here that we're missing."
"Let's look at all the angles again." Zach stared at Eric's mega computer screen as diagrams, numbers, and pictures surrounding the crimes they have been studying over the past few months appeared.
"Okay, for the past few months there has been a ton of robberies of Crimson City's finest research facilities, military compounds, science departments, and even the local universities. The thieves have taken numerous different types of devices, but the similarity is every product is made out of a rare Adulium metal. Why Adulium? Well, this metal is special because of its durability. Even the most toxic and acidic substance couldn't get through a container made of Adulium. It's very rare and often fused with other metals to increase durability. This leads me to believe that our crooks have in mind the mass transportation of something very that may be toxic or explosive, and potentially very dangerous. But where are they going, what are they planning, and where are they now…these are still questions we have unanswered. The most prevalent concern for us is who is the mastermind behind this operation? Each crook you've busted has a red X tattoo on their left arm but according to every internet database, this tells us absolutely nothing. There are plenty of crimelords here in Crimson City, but none of them seem to be interested in Adulium…which leads to the obvious conclusion that this is a new tenant in the underground crime neighborhood of Crimson City."
Eric's brilliant and analytical brain never ceased to amaze Zach. His best friend probably looked like one of the most average people in Crimson City. Eric Summers was skinny, about average height, and his face was full of freckles. He always had short messy red hair because in between online games, research, his IT consultant job, and of course his other job as Nightblaze's "technological advisor" as he called himself, the twenty-eight year old man rarely had time to do things such as bathe or run a comb through his hair. He always wore jeans, a white T-shirt, with some pale colored button down shirt (which was always left unbuttoned.) While on the surface Eric looked like a "nobody", Zach knew the true brilliance behind this man's average exterior. He quite literally could build anything with almost nothing. He also was a whiz with computers. Eric also had a photographic memory, anything he saw once he could remember.
"I developed the abilities I have thanks to a failed experiment that exposed my mother to the deadly Zichromate element." Zach spoke as he proudly smiled to his friend, "But you…you have your abilities naturally just because you're brilliant…you seriously blow me away Eric!"
"Well, it doesn't seem like your extraordinary mastery over fire, or my brilliant mind has been getting us anywhere with these frequent Adulium thefts…" Eric reflectively spoke as he gazed at all the information on their computer screen, searching for an answer.
"What about Derek Widener…" Zach muttered as his eyes left the screen and his mind returned to earlier this evening when he met that pompous jerk. "Maybe he's our villain mastermind?"
"Really Zach?" Eric asked, sarcastic and slightly annoyed at his friend. He knew exactly where this conversation was heading.
"What! Don't look at me like that! It makes sense…sort of. I mean, Derek's name just has gotten big in the past few months, about the same time we've started tracking these robberies. His dad was into some shady deals, need I remind you one of them killed my mother and gave me fire powers. This dude's always been a tool…it makes sense that when he took over daddy's business he also took over his underground business with the crimelords as possible. I'm just spitballing here…you know I have an instinct for these kind of things, Eric."
"Yeah…" Eric rolled his eyes as he went back to typing, "You know , that little communication device in your ear goes both ways, right? I heard everything that happened in that party earlier tonight. Jeez, stalker much Zach? I know things have been real rough for you since Amanda left. She has been a huge part of your life for years, and now she left…and we both know why, you made the decision to put your real job as a super hero above your relationship with her. I'm not saying that was the wrong decision, in fact I think it was the right thing to do, otherwise I wouldn't be hanging around you still…you know that. But with that said, you have to give the girl some room and stop looking at every dude she's talking with as Crimson City's next super villain. And I don't mean to overstep my boundaries as best friend or anything, but you're issues with your break up have really impacted your job as Nightblaze. You've gotten a lot rougher with these crooks, often singling one out like tonight, beating him to tar, and letting the others get away. Come on, Zach, don't forget why you're out there on the streets!"
"What are you trying to say?" Zach spoke loudly and aggressively, as he rose from his chair and begun walking away. "That I should let these thieves off with a warning, give them back the things they steal and ask them not to do it again? Man, it must be nice to sit back here behind your computer and critique my job, Eric. When you're in the moment out there on the streets and you're staring face to face with those lowlifes as their trying to kill you, it's hard to turn the other cheek."
"I understand that, I really do." Eric spoke sympathetically. "I'm just saying I'm concerned about you man. You just dealt with a huge break up, I know how much you love Amanda…But in your line of work you have to be stronger then that kind of stuff."
"Whatever, "Zach shrugged as he continued to walk away. "I am going to go watch some TV, I have to go into work at the fire department here in the next few hours anyway."
"Not yet you don't." Eric spoke as there were beeps on his super computer and a GPS map appeared highlighting a crime happening not to far from the warehouse. "We have another robbery happening a few blocks down from here at a university science lab. More Adulium is being taken, don't hang up your boots yet Nightblaze, your job's not done yet!"
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Meanwhile, at Crimson City's most finest dining establishment Derek Widener courted his beautiful date, Amanda Cho-Ming to a delicious seafood meal. Amanda had used her charm to earn her a personal and private interview with the most wealthiest man in Crimson City, and she was getting a free meal out of it too. Derek knew that Amanda was here only for the story, but he still enjoyed the looks everyone gave him for entertaining the most beautiful girl in the restaurant. He also enjoyed the additional luxury of knowing that buffoon Zach Davis was somewhere knowing that his former love was enjoying a night out on the town with Derek Widener, the most influential man on the West Coast, and Davis's greatest high school nemesis.
Derek thought back to high school and recalled how much he hated Davis. While Derek poked fun at Zach regarding his skill in soccer back at the dinner party, the young billionaire accurately recalled that Zach was the only one on the soccer team to even come close to rivaling Derek's skills. Zach always seemed to be constant thorn in Derek's side. Every time he and his friends would try to pull pranks, take lunch money, or pull any other high school shenanigan, Zach was always there to stop their plans. Furthermore, the blonde haired blunder always found a way to make Derek into the school's laughing stock after thwarting his plans. The worst part of Zach Davis, in Derek's eyes was his loving relationship with his father. Derek grew up hating his dad, and never having the close relationship sons crave for with their father. Zach and his father always appeared inseparable. Derek also knew that his father's insane experiments with Zichromate led to the death of Zach's mother which probably made it so Zach and his father could be even closer…this was one more flaw Derek had against his own father.
His night was made however when he saw the pain in Zach's eyes as Amanda did her best to earn her way into Derek's good graces to earn a story. The feeling Derek received after seeing his former nemesis leave the party in defeat was far greater than any feeling that a billion dollars could create. Derek smiled maliciously to himself as he thought back to way earlier into the evening. He looked across the table to his beautiful date and spoke.
"How are you enjoying your filet?" Derek asked, "I told you, this is by far the best place in Crimson City!"
"It is absolutely delicious." Amanda spoke with a warm smile. She wasn't lying, the food at this restaurant was terrific. "It's wonderful to sit here and catch up with an old friend. (Ok, now Amanda was lying a little…she used to hate Derek Widener in high school.) Looking at you now, I'm so impressed with the man you've become Derek! What you're doing for the world through the Purification Initiative…I wouldn't be surprised if people eventually deemed you a saint! (Yes, Amanda realized that she was now in full-fledged 100% lie mode). Tell me, what's the catch? Surely a project such as the Purification Initiative will create a massive profit for Widener Corporation, am I wrong?"
Derek chuckled as he took a sip from his wine glass. "Well, to pull off such an undertaking, we will need major funding for the Purification Initiative, that's no secret. But if you're asking if I'm going to make it so impossible to pay for pure water that only the rich will benefit from this project, the answer is definitely no. I promise that when Operation Purification is in full swing, that everyone will be impacted by this great project."
"How wonderfully ambiguous." Amanda thought to herself as she wrote down Derek's quote on a notebook.
Derek's cell phone then began to ring. With the intention of silencing the device and continuing his meal, Derek looked down at the phone. When he saw who was calling him, Derek politely raised his finger towards Amanda with a smile, suggesting "I'm sorry, I have to take this." The billionaire rose from the table and moved outside and walked towards a back alley away from anyone who could possibly hear his conversation.
"I thought I made myself clear that you are never to call me on my personal cell phone." Derek's voice had changed from warm and caring towards Amanda to cold and ruthless towards his caller. "I'm not even entirely sure how you got this number…"
"I apologize for the intrusion." The voice responded, "But I feel you need to know the current status of our little…project."
"Fine…" Derek looked at his watch, "You have my attention for five minutes."
"We are almost ready to begin the REAL Purification Initiative with the toxic chemicals that your scientists have provided. I must say, I'm very impressed, I have never seen anything so deadly! We have gathered nearly enough Adulium to create the machinery needed to plague the earth's water…but we have run into that same "complication" again. Just tonight, some of our men at a local university were stopped from stealing the Adulium tanks."
"Is it the weirdo in black armor with a very well placed flamethrower again?" Derek asked sarcastically. "You'd think with the money that I'm paying you and your people that you could take care of this freak. Seriously, how hard is it to kill one man? A man of you stature in the crime world should be able to ensure the kind of help to take care of such a pest, am I wrong?"
"Well, that's the reason I'm calling." The voice responded, "You see, when I worked in line with your father we would occasionally have similar problems with these "freaks" as you call them with an overdramatic style of fighting the good fight. We also had a very effective colleague who made it his business to deal with such…trouble. I was calling to see if you would be interested in doubling our agreed upon rate and including this man's services."
"You've got to be kidding me!" Derek gritted his teeth as he could tell that the lowlife on the other side of the phone was attempting to work him. "Double the price for your thugs that so far have NOT completed the job I'm paying you all to do? What kind of fool do you take me for, Glamnok?"
"The simple truth is this…" Glamnock responded coldly, hating the condescension he was hearing from this young billionaire. "This guy who calls himself Nightblaze is better than the regular guys on my payrole. Now, this isn't the first time we've run across crap like this…Back in the day you're father knew when it was time to call in the bigger guns. I'm telling you, this is the time to do it, otherwise you can just kiss your whole operation goodbye."
There was a long pause and a sigh on Derek's end and he finally spoke calmly. "Fine then, bring him in, and pay him whatever needs. Get this creep off the streets so we can get things ready. When you gather all the Adulium my engineers will be able to construct the Purification Device that will be able to plague the waters. After that people will be willing to pay anything for the cure, which Widener Corporation will have developed. You and I will be rolling in more money then we know what to do with."
"This is a perfect scheme that rivals even your father's devious mind, Mr. Widener." Glamnock responded, "I will call you once we have taken care of this masked menace."
"Don't screw it up." Derek said coldly as he hung up the phone. He returned to the restaurant with the intention of continuing his date with Amanda. He noticed the reporter was no longer at their table. His eyes searched the room and saw no sign of the woman. As he surveyed the area, Derek quickly noticed the window next to where he was chatting with the crime lord, Victor Glamnock. It was slightly ajar, open just enough to fit a small audio recorder outside. Derek cursed under his breath as he walked out of the restaurant. "Oh Amanda Cho-Ming…what have you done to yourself…"