*Editing magic performed by Shyqash, plus contributions by the regular gang of brigands and neer-do-wells*
*This tale is a bit tongue and cheek as well as kinky, so be warned.*
*The carnage of unintended consequences*
[PRELUDE]
[LATER THAT NIGHT]
Liberty Lincoln lying there in her ICU hospital bed looked like hell warmed over. They had blown her the fuck up. The 'they' was yet unknown, but I was going to find out who they were before I paid them back tenfold for what they had done to ... my friend.
"Is she going to be safe in there?" Arachne fidgeted.
"Why are you asking him?" Lucky Dead reacted before her spoken word engaged with her brain.
"She is asking me because she already knows what you can bring to bear," I snapped back.
"You guys ...," Arachne played peacemaker once more.
"To answer your question, Arachne, I've let people in Freedom Force know about this and I've got their pledge they will be looking after her from here on out," I put a comforting hand on Arachne's shoulder.
"Is this the end of ... us ... working together," Lucky Dead deflated.
"No," both Arachne and I said at the same time.
"Lucky, whomever did this isn't going to like the cost of their escalation. They dropped a city block on Liberty ... untold 'normies' buried in that mess plus Liberty," I assured her. "We are going to drop the whole city on them."
"But we don't even know who did this?" Arachne worried.
"So we start busting heads until we get the answer we are looking for," I insisted.
"But what are we looking for?" Arachne fretted.
"Bomb-makers aren't a dime a dozen," I started. "Furthermore, someone had to be scouting Liberty's neighborhood. We check over surveillance cameras at the local stores for anyone, or anything, which seems out of place."
"How do we do that?" Lucky Dead wasn't convinced.
"You two get the surveillance data and go over it. I'll go looking for the bomb-maker," I suggested. "We keep in touch because it makes sense we are next on the hit parade."
"You think any of us could be getting blown up?" Arachne asked.
"It depends on how tight a secret identity we have," I reasoned. "Liberty lived out in the open thus was easy to find. They will be looking for us looking for them from here on out - ambush us as we look for information on them."
"Fine ... that makes sense, so what do we do?"
"Be damn careful," I demanded. "I'm going to find out who would dare make a bomb big enough to drop a city block - even in Brocton. That kind of sick fuck shouldn't be that hard to locate."
"If it is that easy, why haven't the cops found them yet?" Luck Dead mused.
"The people I'll be talking to don't normally talk to the cops," I smirked.
"But they will talk to you?"
"I'll make them an offer they can't refuse," I let my smirk grow into a full-blooded predatory smile.
[~]
"Tell me about the bomb maker, Eddie," I insisted.
"Fuck you!" he spat back. The wisdom of that response was questionable because I had said criminal flunky known as Eddie Grover by the heel and a hundred feet off the ground. Beneath us was the back alleyway filled with junk and asphalt.
"I don't like that answer, Eddie," I mocked him ... then let him go.
"AAAAAHHHH!!" he screamed as he plummeted toward the ground. I gave him a moment to really feel the likelihood of death then raced to catch him with my TK gauntlets. Inches over the ground, I secured his heel once more.
"You ... you fucker," he gasped.
"Your attitude hasn't improve with your change in altitude," I shook my head. Up we went again.
"Noooo," he groaned.
"Let's see how much closer to the ground you'll get this time," I chuckled.
Three drops later, Eddie was a mess and willing to talk. He gave up what he knew about someone seeking the talents of a bomb-maker and I was one step closer to finding out who was behind all this. The reality was I was willing to do whatever was necessary to get to the truth while Arachne wasn't. Worse, the street level goons knew this about her. She wouldn't kill them while the people behind the attack on Liberty Lincoln just might kill her, or them for ratting the bomber out.
Four contacts later and I had an identity, though not the real name of the paymaster behind all this. The name of the paymaster ... The Orchid. I couldn't pursue my leads further though. I had to return to my public life and that meant a late brunch with Boniface Franklin ... plus a dozen other members of the Press as I was now one of the Ten Most Eligible Bachelors of Megalopolis. Ugh.
[CHAOS AT THE CONTEST]
I barely made it in time to my appointment. I was still adjusting my tie when I approached the table where Boniface was waiting for me.
"You just made it," Boniface smiled. "Tough night?"
"I count tardiness as a crime on par with Involuntary Manslaughter in my hierarchy of sins," I responded.
"Ouch!" she snorted. "Remind me to always be on time around you."
"That shouldn't be a problem," I physically greeted her ~ an arm stroke and a kiss on the cheek. I even held her chair for her as she resumed her seat.
"You are also a gentleman," she noted.
"I'm behaving special just for you," I winked.
That earned me another laugh.
"I'm glad you see me as something more than a pocketbook," she chuckled.
"That has never been a problem," I agreed. Nah, she knew who murdered my Mother, or so she claimed. She also claimed Mom was a Monster yet I never remembered her being that way.
That was the highlight of our brunch. During a break in the shooting the female producer asked us to 'spice up' the encounter.
"Like what ~ sit in her lap?" I joked.
"That might appear to be a bit too much," the producer mused thoughtfully. Noting she had really missed my sarcasm, Boniface and I did our best to make brunch a rather confusing blast.
As we were leaving, she turned to me and gave me the first truly authentic smile.
"Calling me Boniface is getting old," she regaled me. "Call me Bonny. All my friends do."
"We aren't friends," I reminded her.
"No, but we could be," she winked. Oh Boy!
[~]
It didn't take a Svengali to realize something was wrong when Bonny and I arrived for the late morning contest in Patriots' Park. We had been scheduled for an obstacle course filled with brain games at eleven. It turned out Barry 'the Brush' Bushnell, Point Guard for the Megalopolis Magicians NBA franchise, was missing and his 'highest bidder' was a bit distraught.
