“Assuming we kill this demon, how can I get to Mars afterwards?”
Thatch sipped his fresh cup of coffee and smacked his lips. “I dunno, Jacob, that’s gonna be tough.”
“Does the Guild have any ships I could borrow?”
“Ha! You wish.”
“Even if I help you save the world?”
“Even then. If we had any just lying around gathering dust, which we don’t, we wouldn’t just hand one off to someone who doesn’t know how to use it. You’d just end up killing yourself with it.”
“But—”
“Let me finish,” Thatch said, folding his upper lip so his bushy mustache touched his nose. “I can’t give you a ship, but I do know of the locations of two wayline navigators.”
“Perfect. Tell me.”
“Well, the first one is Excelerate. He’s an excellent navigator, but he’s down in the AF-HZ, protecting KATLA’s mainframe. The other one is Towman. Last I heard, he was also linking up in Jubilon along with a small group of heroes. Towman is, generously speaking, a so-so navigator, but he’s only a B-Rank, meaning that once this business is done, it won’t be difficult to spare him. You give it your all against Akor-Goram, and I’ll lend him to you afterwards. He can pick up some reinforcements from Mars on his way back.”
“And he’ll get me there?”
Thatch shrugged nonchalantly. “Eh, probably.”
That’s reassuring.
Jacob gave a slow nod. “I’ll take it. Thank you.”
“You’re very welcome, Jacob! We’re all here to help each other. Maybe you’ll be more inclined to value that, once the world goes back to spinning again.”
The implication was clear. As was the director’s unabashed grin.
Join the Heroes’ Guild, and do it properly this time.
“World isn’t saved yet,” Jacob pointed out. “Besides, I’m strongly considering an early retirement.”
“That would make your sidekick very disappointed to hear, I think.”
Jacob laughed. “Let him be disappointed.”
They both knew Jacob wasn’t serious. He’d finally gotten a taste of making good money, and he wasn’t going to give that up.
He would just be a bit smarter about it.
If they managed to save the world. Big if.
Thatch set his cup down and spread his hands. “What else you got? Go on.”
“Is Bob dead?”
“He survived Green Meadows, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“He did?”
“Yuuup. Got beat all to hell, but we managed to salvage his processing unit, put him in a nice new body. Don’t look too happy, though. I have no idea where he got to after that.”
“I do.”
Thatch raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”
“He’ll be with Becca.”
“They’re friends, then?”
“They are.”
Jacob felt a weight lift off his shoulders—minuscule compared to the mountain that weighed him down, but still a relief. If there was one thing he could count on Bob for, it was to keep Becca safe.
Thatch must have noticed Jacob’s smile, because he returned one of his own, shaking his head. “You put a lot of faith in your friends, Jacob. I don’t know if that’s admirable or just naive.”
“Naive, probably. They’re both idiots.” Jacob’s smile widened into a grin. “But I know they’re alive. And I know they’re waiting for me somewhere out there.”
“In times like this, it’s important to keep hope alive. I can only commend you for that, I suppose.”
Jacob nodded. “By the way, I can’t help but notice that the whole fucking System is down. What’s up with that?”
“The initial Chaos surge knocked it out, and one of Akor-Goram’s lieutenants, Kel-Dursu, destroyed KATLA’s mainframe here on Earth, so she can’t bring the System back. We’ve got some heroes down there defending her while she repairs herself. The backup on the Moon must be gone, too, but we haven’t gotten any confirmation on that.”
“But you think it’ll be restored?”
Thatch nodded. “Assuming Excelerate and the others hold out, then yes. We’re estimating it’ll take around a week or two.”
“Is that before or after we throw ourselves at a demon thane?”
“We’ll give KATLA as much time as we can, but if it looks like Akor-Goram is going to bolt and the System isn’t back up, we’ll have to go ahead anyway.”
“I see. What’s going to happen to the kid when we go off to war?”
“He should stay here at the Lodge. We’re leaving some support staff and a few low-ranked heroes behind. The city’s mostly cleared out by now, so this is one of the safest places on Earth he could be right now.”
“That makes sense.”
It did make sense. But Jacob had made the kid a promise. Of course, he could argue that he’d promised not to leave him alone, and he wouldn’t be alone at the Lodge. But he guessed that wouldn’t play very well.
It’s only fair to ask him, at the very least.
I don’t know just how attached he’s gotten over the last week. He’s got a lot of other heroes to follow around now. Maybe it won’t be an issue.
“With all that out of the way, are you feeling caught up?” Thatch asked.
“Hold on. There’s one more thing. We have an elephant in the room that’s gone unaddressed.”
“Which one would that be?” Thatch looked about the room as though he’d see one.
“Starman.”
“What about Starman?”
“He fucked me, that’s what. Twice. First in Green Meadows, then the place they took me to. Where they tortured me, by the way. He made sure I wouldn’t get out of there before the apocalypse happened. And the second time, funnily enough, he said he was working with your permission.”
Thatch held up a hand. “Okay, I didn’t know that last part. It’s a complicated situation, so if you’ll just—”
Jacob grabbed the man’s ugly yellow tie, wrapped it around his hand, and yanked him forward until their faces were a hand’s breadth apart. If not for his sunglasses, the director would be having a bad time. “I’m not interested in hearing your excuses. Tell me what happened, and tell me where he is now.”
Several of the heroes around the room stood up, but Thatch waved them away and gave a nervous chuckle. “Settle down, everybody. Jacob’s been through a lot, I don’t fault him for having some hard feelings.”
Jacob slowly let up his grip, allowing Thatch to lean back and adjust his tie. He stared at the other heroes, watched them sit down, but all eyes were on him now, and the tension hung heavy in the air.
“I suspected Starman since the Green Meadows fiasco, all right?” Thatch said. “But I didn’t want to confront him just like that and get people killed trying to bring him in. So I waited until he was vulnerable and had a pair of A-Ranks do the job. They brought him in, and we put together that he’d been working for the Red Right Hand.”
“Then he made a deal for some information.”
“Yes, he made a deal in exchange for his freedom,” Thatch said, nodding. “Information on many of the Red Right Hand’s key facilities. Now, at this time, we still thought they might have had something to do with the doomsday prophecy, so you understand why we were eager to get our hands on that information.”
“And then you let him hit one of the targets himself.”
“We didn’t let him so much as he said he was going to hit the RRH facility outside Oslo, and we didn’t feel like expending resources on stopping him. In the end he took the place out all on his own, so we considered it a win. I figured there was something shady about it, of course, but we were scrambling, as always. Even more than usual. Things fell through the cracks.”
A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“The only reason he hit that facility was to fuck with me. He killed Fenway and Sonny and tried to do the same with me at Green Meadows, so I guess he thought I’d hold a grudge. Which I did, and I do. He killed everyone in the facility and left me to rot. I nearly starved to death. I had to dig my way out of there with my bare hands. So now you understand the situation. If I held a grudge before, it’s gone intergalactic now.”
Thatch rubbed at the back of his head. “I didn’t know about all that, son. I mean, I put two and two together about what he did at Green Meadows, but not that other stuff. You’re… not going to try and kill me, are you? I really wouldn’t if I were you, and I’m saying that for your sake.”
Jacob shook his head. “You’ll make up for your mistake by helping me kill him. Where is he now?”
“Off-world. Got a ship and bailed as soon as he could. Don’t know where to, but I’ll know once the System’s back up. I really can’t allocate any resources towards bringing him in, not even after all this is over. I can find things out, put out feelers, but that’s it.”
“You’ll give me what you have on him. His file, his personal details, his work history, his known associates. And I want an official assignment to kill him. I’ll take one million in payment for that service, thank you very much.”
Thatch smiled wide. “You really like to press your luck, don’t you?”
“Only when I’m beside myself with rage.”
“Fair enough. The first part is no problem. Once the System is up and we all have a moment to breathe, I’ll dig up his dirt for you. Well, not me personally, but I’ll have someone qualified look into it. A million is not doable, but you know that. Again, a moment to breathe, then we’ll negotiate.”
Jacob nodded. “Fair enough. But it will be one million.”
“I admire your optimism.”
“And now I’m done.”
“Good. We’re leaving for Jubilon day after tomorrow. Be ready by then.”
“Vehicles?”
“You keep underestimating us, Jacob. We’re using a teleporter.”
*****
Jacob finished up with the director and felt a good deal wiser than he had before. He headed towards the medical center to find Tarim and met the kid in the hall as he was coming back. He had a fresh set of clothes on, just a standard white Guild uniform. One pant leg was rolled up, and he had a viscous goop stuck to his thigh where he had been bitten.
“The work of Superglue, I take it?” Jacob asked, pointing to the semi-clear mass.
“Yeah. It’s supposed to make you heal faster. She was really nice.”
“She give you a lollipop?”
“Nah.”
“I see. She was just pretty, then.”
Tarim grinned, the movement pulling on the scales around his cheek. “She wasn’t bad. A bit old, though. There are no girls my age here.”
“Did you expect there to be?”
“I mean, kinda. I thought people would have their families here.”
“They probably got evacuated on the escape ship as part of the agreement for those that stayed behind.”
“Oh, yeah. I guess that makes sense.”
“Come on, I scored us some rooms. Let’s check ‘em out.”
“But I’m hungry.”
“There’s something I need to talk to you about. Then you can eat.”
The two rooms were adjacent to one another, the yellow tape torn off the doors. The rooms themselves were small and drab, but they had all the basics. Bed, nightstand, toilet, shower, mirror, desk, wardrobe.
Aside from the shower, Jacob was most excited about using a toilet. Squatting down to shit in the middle of an apocalyptic wasteland while looking about for monsters was not something that had grown on him.
When Tarim came through from checking out his own room, he was wearing a sour expression. “What did you want to talk about, then?”
Jacob lifted him up by his armpits like a little child and set him down on the bed. “Look, there’s a lot happening. I’ve got a lead on Becca, the girl, but first I’ve got to help the Guild stop the evil alien demon lord fella that caused all this. I’m going to Jubilon for that. Now, it’ll be very dangerous there, so—”
“I knew it. You’re leaving me behind. Even though you promised.”
“Listen!” Jacob said and snapped his fingers in the kid’s face. “Since it’ll be dangerous, and the Guild has decided to leave some people behind here, where it’s safe, I’m letting you choose.”
“I want to go with you,” Tarim said quickly.
“Why?”
“I’d be a bad sidekick otherwise, wouldn’t I?” His yellow eye had a mischievous glint to it.
“I’m serious, kid.” Jacob squatted down in front of Tarim and put a hand on his shoulder. He softened his voice. “A lot has happened to you. And I’ve done my best to keep you safe, but that work is over now. You’re as safe as you can be here, given the circumstances. I’m too young to be your father, and I’m too selfish to be your brother. And I don’t need a sidekick. What I’m saying is, there’s no reason for you to stick with me anymore. Sticking with me would only put you in more danger. Everyone around me has this lovely tendency of dying all the time.”
Tarim shook his head. “I don’t care about any of that.”
“Why, Tarim? Whatever savior you see in me, it’s an illusion. It doesn’t exist. You’re just a kid. When this is all over…”
Jacob shook his head.
When this is all over, if he’s lucky, he’ll get taken off-world. Put in foster care somewhere. Maybe they’ll find a way to fix his face. That’d help his chances a bit. He’s not going to have a good time either way.
He remembered the stings of his own foster care experience all too well. The world was not made for orphans.
That doesn’t mean I can keep him around like a lost puppy forever.
“When this is all over, what?” Tarim asked.
“Nevermind. Just… nevermind. You have a life ahead of you, that’s all I’m trying to say. The future looks a lot brighter now than it did yesterday. We might be able to beat this thing. And that means you have to start thinking about tomorrow, make some smart choices.”
“I want to go with you.”
“I’m going to be brutally honest with you, kid. You’re not my first priority. Not even close.”
“That’s fine. I still want to go with you.”
“Why?”
“You saved my life. You took care of me.”
“I didn’t do that for you.”
“Then why did you do it?”
Jacob stood up, looked down at him. “Because it was the end of the world, and I was lonely, and I needed a friend. I needed another face to look at or I was going to go insane, and you and your grandpa were the only candidates around.”
Tarim gave a slow nod and turned his gaze to the floor. “I understand. Are you done with the ‘you deserve better’ speech?”
“Yeah, I’m done.”
“Okay. You’re still letting me choose, right?”
“Yeah, ‘cause I made a pinky promise. I don’t break those.”
“Right. So when are we leaving?”
Jacob gave a snort of a laugh. “You’re a pretty stubborn kid. You know they’re not going to let me take you along, don’t you? They would probably consider it, uh, child endangerment or something.”
“Okay, so what do we do?”
“We? Nothing. That’s your job. I’ve been clear on that all along, haven’t I? You get to tag along if you can keep up. So you figure out a way to come along to Jubilon, or you’re staying put.”
Tarim grinned. “All right.”
Jacob wagged a warning finger at him. “And to be clear, you’ll be doing the exact same thing over there that you’d be doing over here. Which is sit on your ass and do nothing. No fighting, no guns, not even a knife. Is that clear?”
A nod.
“Good.”
*****
Since he had some time to kill before the trip to Jubilon, and he wouldn’t be briefed properly until tomorrow morning, Jacob decided to kick back and take it slow that night. He took a hot shower, he had a shit in a real toilet, he got himself some fresh clothes that weren’t covered in blood or ash or piss, and he got himself some more food from the cafeteria with Tarim.
Afterwards, they looked around the place and found a rec room with a pool table, a video game console hooked up to a TV, an air hockey table, and a few ancient arcade machines. All empty aside from them. Jacob whipped Tarim at pool a few times until he refused to play anymore. The kid draped himself over a worn-out velvet couch while Jacob continued shooting balls at random.
“What did the doctor say about your face?” Jacob asked.
“She said it looked stable, and that that’s really rare, but also that she doesn’t know what would happen to me if I got more Chaos exposure, whatever that is.”
“That’s good news.” Jacob let off a shot, and the balls all went bouncing off each other, clack clack clack.
“Tell me about her,” Tarim said. “Becca.”
Jacob glanced back. “Like what?”
“Like anything. Something funny.”
Jacob thought about it while he circled around the table with the pool cue angled high. “She’s completely useless. Can’t do a thing without me. Not too bright, either. She’s hopeless about hero stuff—like an absolute mega nerd. Oh, and she’s friends with a robot.”
“A robot?”
Jacob nodded. “Yup. A robot.” He gave up on pool and discarded the cue. He shovedTarim’s legs out of the way and sat down. “He’s called Bob. I never liked him much, but him and Becca are good friends. He’s quite famous, actually—he was in the news and everything.”
“Really?”
“Yup. First sentient cleaner bot in history, if you’ll believe it. And a User, to boot.”
“Come on. You’re joking.”
“I’m really not. You’ll probably meet him someday if we stick together. He’s really not as interesting as he sounds, though.”
“Do you think she’d like me?”
“She likes everyone, kid.”
“So that’s a yes?”
“Yeah.”
They sat in silence for a while.
“I remember this one time,” Jacob said, his gaze faraway. “My… the man I was staying with at the time, he got me worse than usual. Usually I’d hide the bruises, but he fucked up my face that time, too. Black eye, cut my cheek with his ring. Becca saw it. She cleaned me up. She did that a lot. Whenever I’d get in fights, or… that kind of thing. She’d put these girly-ass band-aids all over me. It was annoying, but also… it helped me be brave when I needed to, because I knew I always had someone to go home to, even if I didn’t have a home.
“She was the only good thing I ever had. To me, she’s the only real person in the world. Everyone else is just a paper cutout. She’s so bright it hurts. I came back to life to keep her safe. That’s the only reason I’m here.” He put his head in his hands and sighed. “Sorry, that was… I said a lot more than I meant to.”
“She sounds great,” Tarim said with a bright smile. “I hope I get to meet her.”
“I hope so too.”
Then Tarim’s smile twisted, and his face got all screwed up. He let out a strange, choked laugh. “Sorry, I’m okay.”
Then he started crying. Wild, desperate sobs, hands wrapped around his head. Strange oily tears streamed down his yellow eye. He cried so hard his chest heaved and he struggled to draw breath, cried so hard he was almost screaming. “I’m okay, I’m okay,” he choked out.
He wasn’t okay.
Something inside him had broken like a dam. All the tragedy he’d accumulated was coming out all at once.
Jacob didn’t know what to do. He put a soft hand on the kid’s back, felt him shivering.
“A lot’s happened,” he said. “You’ve been brave. It’s all right.”
Tarim blubbered something incomprehensible in reply.
“It’s going to be all right.”
Jacob let the boy cry himself out. He’d earned that much.