This chapter came out a little later than planned, sorry about that. I'll try to get Chapter 4 up sooner. In the meantime, here's chapter three and any feedback you have for this chapter or previous ones is much appreciated :) Happy reading my fellow Irrelevants!
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Chapter 3 - Desperate Measures
There was a lot of work to be done. The genius hacker had been working at his computer since he finished his brief conversation with his associate. He had already dug up several pieces of information that could help them track their number, but there were still enough gaps to make the exact location a mystery.
Silence filled the Library until the seventy pound malinois shepherd that was lying peacefully in his bed pounced to charge the man that had "adopted" him over a month prior. Finch vaguely heard his partner command their dog to lay back down before saying, "You're back."
"Made it out in one piece," Reese added.
The billionaire lifted his head from his computer to see the large burn mark left on Reese's shirt from the bar fight. "Oh dear, what happened?"
"Met another fire paragon at the bar. Needless to say she wasn't very interested in talking," Reese explained.
"You didn't use your weapon, did you?"
"I didn't have to. Besides, the last thing I needed was to draw extra attention to the situation."
Reese wasn't just being overly paranoid in his hesitation to use his arma- although that was no doubt a part of it. But mostly, he was being cautious in activating what has become known as an arma beacon. Transforming a small coin into a full-sized weapon of any kind takes a great deal of force. Paragon are trained to sense when that energy is released so in Reese's case, without knowing who was around the restaurant, it was better to be safe than sorry.
"And you're not hurt?" Finch worried.
The Man in the Suit walked over to a drawer behind his boss' desk and grabbed a clean shirt out of it before answering, "No, luckily for me a fire element only works one way; you can burn but you can't get burnt."
Finch was only partially paying attention to what Reese was saying because he was more caught up on the random drawer of clean white shirts he didn't know was in his library. "When did you put those there?"
"After Riley Cavanaugh shot me a few weeks ago. Figured it couldn't hurt to have them here."
"Fair enough," the older man conceded, turning back to his computers.
"Have you found anything that could help us track Miles down again?" Reese asked while switching shirts.
"As a matter of fact I have. Since the first two cases you sent me were resolved shortly after you got eyes on Mr. Miles I took a more detailed look at case number three."
Reese circled around the desk and planted himself in front of the glass board that now held a picture of their number, two of his clients, and three targets.
"Did you find anything we could use?" The ex-op asked.
"I'm not quite sure what to make of it yet, but I did find something of interest: Duncan Morter, the man that supposedly hired Miles to track down Jane Aldridge, doesn't exist."
"He- what?"
"I wasn't able to find a single trace of him online. I couldn't even verify his social security number!"
"So what does that mean?" Reese questioned.
"I wondered the same thing, so I took a closer look at Miles' laptop. Most of the files were encrypted, but I was able to find this," Finch gestured for his partner to come around the desk and look at the computer screen.
Reese made his way over and upon seeing the screen asked, "What is it?"
"As far as I can tell, it appears to be surveillance, including photos and notes, of at least five paragon, including Ms. Aldridge." Finch then scrolled through several photos, clearly taken from places where the photographer couldn't be spotted, of the woman Reese had fought in the bar and others he didn't recognize.
"Do we know who the other four paragon are?" Reese asked.
"Not exactly. Their names were in Miles' notes. I enlisted Detective Fusco's help to identify them. He-" the explanation was cut off by the ringing of a phone. "Speaking of the good detective."
"'Good' is a stretch," Reese smirked as Finch reached for the phone. The billionaire gave the operative a disapproving look before hitting "answer."
"What have you got for us, Detective?" Finch greeted.
"Where the hell did you get these names you asked me to look into?" Fusco asked over the phone.
"Oh no, what's wrong?"
"More like what isn't wrong. Every single one of these guys is a criminal. Wanted for arms trafficking, possession with intent, even three armed robberies; one of which ended in murder. The police have been trying to catch this gang for years."
"Do they have any leads?" Reese asked.
"As of right now, no. They thought they nailed them last week for this Times Square mess but they couldn't prove their involvement."
"Wait, the Times Square incident?" Reese echoed as he started to piece something together. "Miles' sister was killed in that explosion."
"That can't be a coincidence," Finch adds.
"If he was looking into the gang himself," Reese trailed off.
Finch picked up where Reese left off, "then Miles faked the client as a cover story."
"That's the threat, Finch. Aldridge said she already knew who Miles was and that she wouldn't tell him anything. They're gonna kill him for investigating them."
"What are you two talking about?" The detective asked.
"Nothing. Thank you for your help, Detective," Finch said hastily before hanging up.
"We have to track down this gang. It's the only lead we have," Reese stated.
"And how exactly do you expect to find them?"
The Man in the Suit went eerily quiet for a second. A wave of worry washed over his employer. He knew exactly how he expected to find this criminal gang.
"Mr. Reese…"
"Well we did save his life. He owes us something."
"Yes and after we saved his life he tried to kill you, and a baby, and start a war by killing five crime bosses. Must I continue?"
"I know but we're kind of out of options here, Finch. And he knows the criminal landscape of this city better than anyone."
"Easy for you to say, you're not the one that has to visit him in prison."
"What's the matter, Harold? You forget to brush up on your chess skills?"
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
The buzzer rung indicating that the doors were about to open for a visitor. Finch walked into the private visitor's room of the prison where he saw a familiar face sitting at a table already set up for a game of chess. Cautiously, the hacker took his seat across from an old frenemy: Carl Elias.
"It's good to see you, Harold. How's our friend John doing? Staying out of trouble, I hope?" The conman inquired.
"John's well. Although trouble has always had a way of finding him," Harold answered vaguely.
"Referring to another one of your noble crusades, I assume," Elias wondered.
"Yes, about that," Harold responded slowly.
"You need my help again," the criminal guessed. A small smile crossed his face that worried Harold for one reason: Elias knew he was right.
"My associate and I did save your life once," Harold reminded him.
"Sure, but I paid my debt for that."
"The way I recall it, you retracted that favor and extorted information from John by locking him in a freezer truck."
"Ok, I suppose I do owe you something after that. So what can I do for you?'
"Our newest 'crusade' as you call it was tracking down a dangerous street gang when we lost him earlier this morning. We were hoping you could help us find him?'
"And how could I do that?"
"Well you are somewhat notorious for your knowledge of the criminal world in New York."
"You're assuming I know how to track this gang?"
"Would we be wrong in our assumption?"
"Depends on the gang."
"They appear to be a group of paragon who operate in Queens. We've identified five members already. The police believe they had something to do with the Times Square incident last week."
"Ah, yes, the 'Times Square Crew' as people are now calling them. I've had some run-ins with them. They always try to be so flashy, wanting to cause chaos and make headlines. They don't understand the value of staying in the shadows," Elias stated as he pointed at the ceiling.
Instantly, the light was sucked from the room as if the dark corners grew and engulfed the small amount of light there was. When Elias dropped his hand the light returned. Finch couldn't help but think how apt it was for a man obsessed with staying in the figurative shadows having the ability to control the literal ones.
Noting the point Elias was trying to make, Harold continued their conversation, "Do you know how we can find them?"
"I've had a few of my men keep tabs on them. As of right now, they should be working out of a building on the corner of 81st and 170th, right past St. John's University. On the last Tuesday of every month they receive a large weapons shipment there, which it just so happens to be today."
Finch quickly updated his asset with the address, Mr. Reese, the gang is operating out of a building in Queens at 81st and 170th.
I'm on my way, the operative assured.
Despite Finch's sudden silence, Elias had a few questions of his own. "What's your man's interest in these paragon, anyway?"
"We're not completely sure, although we believe it has something to do with the death of his sister. He's driven by revenge and very determined, which makes him very dangerous."
"Trying your hand at stopping an all-out paragon war, are we?'
"More like trying to stop one human from getting himself killed."
"Your guy is a human?" Elias clarified. "Well you and John sure do like a challenge."
"Yes, trying to help someone who hates you before they know you is quite difficult."
"People do tend to hate what they don't understand," Elias agrees. "Now," the cunning crime boss moved his third pawn from the left up two spaces. "Are we going to waste time talking or are we going to play?"
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Mr. Reese, are you at the location I sent you? The fugitive hacker checked in.
Been here for about half an hour. I've seen five people including Aldridge go into the building, the mercenary updated. He was waiting patiently in his car, keeping a close eye on all the visible entrances to the building.
Has anyone come out?
No, no one's left since I got here, Reese answered. There was a slight pause before Finch said anything else.
Oh no, Finch responded suddenly.
What's wrong?
I was going through Mr. Miles' laptop again to see if there was anything we missed and I found something quite alarming.
And what's that?
He had an encrypted file buried in all of his other data. When I cracked the encryption I found two documents.
What do the documents say?
The first one lists the address of the building you're currently watching along with the current time and the words 'weapon shipment.'
What does that mean?
I'm not sure. Elias informed me that the gang receives a weapons shipment on the last Tuesday of every month.
Little bit of an overkill for a race born with a weapon to get a whole shipment of them…
Be that as it may, that wasn't even the most worrying piece of information on here. The second document is a blueprint that highlights the weak points of the same building. I can't figure out why he- oh dear.
What is it?
He's planning on attacking the gang before the weapons come in tonight. Mr. Reese, you have to stop him.
Reese didn't even have time to process what Finch was telling him. A dark figure entered the building as the billionaire finished his piece and Reese knew who it was.
Too late for that. I think Miles just made his move, Finch. I'm going in after him.
The Man in the Suit climbed out of his car and approached the headquarters. When he got to the door, he noticed that the lock was already broken, the door cracked slightly; so he decided to let himself in. He found himself in a very dark corridor with no windows and solid concrete walls. The only light that was leaking into the hallway was coming from two doors up ahead. As Reese approached the closest door- the one to his left- he heard a voice shout, "You again?!" the trained spy recognized the voice as Jane Aldridge. "I thought I ditched you back at the bar!"
Reese figured now was as good a time as any to crash this little party. He stepped into a small empty room with brick walls and concrete floors to see something much more troubling than he had imagined: Miles pointing a small handgun at five paragon.
This guy's in over his head.
Reese couldn't fathom why the gang hadn't attacked Miles yet, but he thought it best to try to talk the man down before something really bad happened. Suddenly, one of the paragon did reach for his arma, and Reese learned why they hadn't made a move yet.
"Make another move and I swear I'll kill us all," Miles warned as he held up a remote-looking device. Recognizing the device as an explosive detonator, the Man in the Suit decided to make his presence known.
"Miles, you don't have to do this," Reese cautioned.
"What the-?" Miles stuttered. Clearly he didn't know who he was dealing with. "I warned you not to follow me."
"Looks like I was right to," Reese stated. "You've gotten yourself in quite a mess."
"This doesn't concern you."
"It does if you're going to kill innocent people."
Miles scoffed, "You call these people innocent? They're criminals! They deserve what's coming to them."
The detonator shifted in Miles' hand, indicating that his trigger finger was getting itchy.
Let's try a different approach.
"I know how it feels to want someone dead. Especially because you blame them for the death of someone you love. But revenge won't bring your sister back. Please. Put the detonator down."
The distressed man froze, weighing his options carefully. Sadly, the paragon who reached for his arma moments before became even more impatient.
"Screw this," he exclaimed.
The impatient one then made a pushing motion with his hand in Miles' direction which was all it took to send the man flying.
Another psychic? Give me a break.
The PI landed on his side with a thud and the detonator clattered to the ground. Reese reacted on instinct and pulled his .45 from his waistband, shooting the psychic and the paragon standing next to him in the kneecap. Both men crumbled to the ground in pain.
Two down, three to go.
As Reese went to take aim at the next paragon, his .45 was ripped from his hand, flew across the room, and smacked against the wall. He turned in time to see a second psychic paragon throwing her coin in the air and swiftly catching her armis- three six-pointed shuriken stars- which she then threw at Reese in unison.
The ex-op reached for his own weapon which he kept in his right hand pocket, but as he grabbed it he felt a slicing pain in the back of his hand, causing him to drop the coin. It took him a second to realize that one of the shurikens had slit the back of his hand open. He only had time to brace himself before a water paragon charged him and landed a powerful punch in the center of Reese's chest.
The attack sent Reese flying and he landed on the ground flat on his back. Water exploded from the paragon's fist on impact, leaving the mercenary gasping for air after feeling as if he had been hit with the force of a waterfall. Waterfall Fist hovered over Reese, telegraphing another attack. He pulled his fist back, clearly aiming at the operatives head this time. Reese barely had enough time to roll out of the way as the fist came crashing down, again exploding on impact.
With no arma and his .45 on the other side of the room, Reese had to fall to his last resort. He didn't like using fire to harm people- he knew it could leave permanent scars- but desperate times call for desperate measures. He quickly lifted his hand in Waterfall Fist's direction and shot a fireball just big enough to engulf the man's arm.
As the paragon screamed in agony, Reese tackled him to gain an advantage. With the paragon pinned down, Reese started to wail on him. It only took three punches to knock the guy out, but as Reese was about to let up, he felt a force tugging at him, and suddenly he was sent flying into the wall just as easily as his .45 was. He landed hard on the concrete which only added to the daze he felt due to the initial impact into the wall. Getting to his hands and knees, he was starting to gain focus back when he felt someone kick him back to the ground.
"You just don't know when to quit, do you?" Aldridge's voice said from above him.
The Man in the Suit wasn't going to entertain a response, but seeing his arma within arm's reach, he thought it might serve better as a distraction. "Quitting was never one of my strong suits."
Immediately, the operative grabbed his arma, kicked Aldridge's feet out from under her, and sat up on one knee before throwing his coin up in the air, catching the semi-automatic assault rifle that took its place, and shooting Jane as well as the remaining psychic paragon in the knee. One unconscious and four knee-capped paragon later, there was no one else standing other than Reese and Miles- who was currently sitting against the back wall cowering in fear.
Reese walked over to the PI and kneeled down next to him, "Are you going to trust me now?'
All the terrified man could do was nod in silence.
"Then come on," Reese insisted as he pulled the man to his feet.
"Where are we going?"
"Some place safe."