The workshop was a mess. A common enough occurrence with Liam running things. But this time it wasn’t pieces of his next invention that graced the space. Instead, it was evidence from the three recent murders that was strewn about. Tablets with pictures and police reports occupied the space Liam’s new jet boots had a few days before. Witness testimonies on another table, its previous invention thrown out of sight for the time being.
To most people, the workshop looked like utter chaos, but not to Liam. As with his inventions there was an order to the seeming mayhem he created. But try as he might to explain it to others, they never seemed to grasp what he was doing.
The mess hadn’t sprung up overnight. In the three days since the team’s most recent dust up with the Broken Crest, evidence had started to gather. At first, it was a picture or two at a time. Then, before you knew it, all the pictures from the crime scenes were here. Followed by the witness statements and police write ups. Which all led to the clutter in front of Liam right now.
After Liam’s fight with Phaser, there were too many questions left unanswered. They drove him, demanding he search for answers. Which was what his workshop had become. A giant game of Clue, with real world stakes.
All of this stemmed from his conversation with Phaser. When he accused her of the murders everything about her changed. Her tone went from confidence bordering on arrogance to something else. Then there was her body language. Liam hadn’t been recording at the time so he couldn’t go back and check, but he was sure there were clues there as well. Thinking back on it left Liam with one inevitable conclusion. Phaser wasn’t the murderer.
He thought about bringing the idea to the team, but they’d think he was being tricked. Phaser was a Cowl after all. One proficient at lying and stealing. She must be using those talents to trick him. Appearing as an innocent little sheep. Caught up in some larger game.
However, Liam couldn’t shake the feeling. The other Heroes were more experienced than he was, but they hadn’t been there. Phaser’s reactions were real. She was confused at being accused of murder. To the point where she ran from a fight that was bound to end in a draw. That had to mean something.
Trying to figure it out Liam had been digging into the case files. Until he could prove his hunch on Phaser, he’d work on this alone. His program providing all the help he’d get.
The thing had been running in the background all night. Trying to find something, anything, for him to work with. And it’d just spit out its results. Pulling them up on screen Liam flew through the report. The conclusion wasn’t what he’d hoped for. It still pointed to the same two commonalities. The gym passes and Skip’s goo. Nothing new to go off of there, Liam thought as he skimmed over all the accompanying text.
Next he looked through the ‘possible suspects’ section of the report. The first time the program predicted Phaser was involved in the crimes, but didn’t give a high confidence measurement. That’d all changed with this pull. Now it was convinced she was involved. The video of her likeness on the street all it needed to make the call.
What little hope Liam was grasping to fell away. Swallowed up by the program’s results. Even it wasn’t seeing anyone other than Phaser, was he wrong? The program didn’t let emotions guide it. Could those cold calculations be foiling Phaser’s ploy? Where Liam and his gullible self fell for it? His mind bogged down. Even if he was right about this hunch, what chance did he have of uncovering something now?
The only thing he could do now was submit to the truth. He’d fallen for Phaser’s lies. She was far more skilled at it than Liam assumed. It was crushing to admit the Cowl fooled him. However, it was better to admit a mistake than live with a lie.
Switching over to his other work, Liam decided to do something constructive for a change. There was plenty that needed to be done in the workshop. From the countless inventions he was working on to repairing the weapons and armor damaged in the last fight. His staff was the only thing he’d looked at so far. It was fixed before he had been drawn into reviewing all the crime scenes. Best to have that working before the next fight.
That left one major fix still in the que from the fight, his helmet. Sure there were plenty of other small things that needed to be looked at, but the helmet was in its own category. During the fight the bug man landed a glancing blow on his helmet. Or at the time what Liam thought was a glancing blow. Now that there was a chance to look at the damage, Liam realized just how lucky he’d been.
On one side of the helmet were the letters TH-S. Standing for ‘The Hunt - Source’. A branding Liam gave his suit when he first joined the team. Now there was a gouge cutting clean through the letters. Metal harder than steel was peeled apart like layers of an onion. A fraction of an inch deeper and the claw would’ve pierced through the final layer of the helmet. Cutting into Liam and likely killing him. It was crazy how much damage a glancing blow from that creature could do.
When Liam first saw the damage it sent a chill down his spine. How lucky was he the thing only landed one clean attack? If there’d been more strikes, they would’ve shredded through his armor. Which, given this recent fight, was proving it wasn’t strong enough. It’d need to be reworked from the ground up. Maybe layering different types of armor or some other scheme to protect him from the next stray bug claw. But that could come later. After he fixed his current suit.
Grabbing the equipment needed for the repair, Liam got to work. News teams would have a field day if he went back into the field while the logo on his helmet had a gash through it. That was a hassle Liam wanted to avoid. Looking over the claw mark and planning the fix, Liam’s thoughts abruptly shifted as he spotted a picture on one of the tablets laying on a nearby table. One of the crime scenes he’d looked at, at least a dozen times already. But now there was something different in Liam’s eyes.
The missing piece to the murders was sitting in plain sight. Rushing over to the pictures Liam searched through them until he found the one he was looking for. A picture the police took of the third crime scene. The timestamp in the corner showing it was taken around two hours after the Heroes left for the bank.
The picture was of the kitchen. Taken from the far side of the room to capture everything in the space. It showed the room in near perfect order. All the food put away, table cleared, and counters cleaned. The only exception were puddles of Skip goo on the floor. In the picture they were all clustered around one spot near a counter.
Pulling up his suit’s video of the same room settled the matter. The clue Liam was looking for was right there. It wasn’t what was in the picture the officer took that drew Liam’s eye. The hairs on his arms were standing on end because of what it didn’t show.
How could this be Liam thought? This can’t be happening. As Liam stared at the picture, his legs began to shake before they gave out. Collapsing in a chair, Liam’s mind raced. He had to do something, tell someone what he’d found. Ullr, it had to be him. The man was the team leader, he’d know what to do.
Bolting from the room the picture of the crime scene fell from Liam’s hand. The tablet landing on the table. Still holding its secrets dear from everyone, but the young Hero.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
Finding Ullr wasn’t difficult. At this time of day he was giving his daily report to the DCP. The team leader would hold up in a side office for the call. An office the rest of the team avoided like the plague. The belief that being near the room would get them dragged into the meeting. Something they actively avoided. Being able to find Ullr without the rest of the team nearby was a boon for Liam. It saved him from figuring out how to pull Ullr away from the team.
While the DCP as an organization was masterful with its ability to organize and maintain Heroes throughout the country, their paperwork was almost oppressive in its endless quantities. It reminded Liam of finals week at school except it lasted year round.
Reaching the small office Liam peered inside. Ullr was there, sitting in a chair at attention. Back straight and shoulders upright, costume on in all its golden glory. On the far side of the room were screens with dozens of masked individuals. Leaders from all the Hero teams in the Midwest.
Noticing Ullr wasn’t speaking Liam tried to be quiet when he knocked on the door. His leader’s head moved ever so slightly as he directed his attention at Liam. A subtle hand signal letting Liam know he could enter.
Pulling the door open wider, Liam stuck his head in and whispered, “I found a new lead on the murders. I need to show you.”
“Can it wait until after this meeting?” Ullr asked. Leaning away from the camera so he was off screen when he spoke.
“No. You need to see this now.”
Ullr eyed Liam for a moment before nodding. The leader trusting the judgment of his newest Hero. Turning back to the screen he said, “There appears to be an emergency here that requires my attention. I’ll send my update later tonight.”
Those on the call didn’t seem surprised with The Hunt’s leader asking to be excused. In the Hero business, emergencies often popped up when you least expected. Nothing strange with one of their own making a quick departure.
Cutting the feed Ullr turned to Liam and said, “What do you have for me?”
“I have the who of the murders but not the why,” Liam said. Wringing his hands as he shifted his stance.
“I thought we agreed it was Phaser,” Ullr said. A small frown passing over his lips.
“We did but… Just follow me and I’ll show you,” Liam said. Opening the door wider for the other Hero.
With an affirmative from Ullr the two soon found themselves in the workshop. The screens in front of them showing the three murders. Pictures and witness testimony sprawled across them.
“What is it you needed to show me?” Ullr asked as he looked from one screen to the next. As if he could force them to share their secrets with him.
“I know who did it,” Liam said.
“You said that earlier, but we already know it was Phaser and another Cowl. You said it yourself only a few days ago,” Ullr said as he turned his penetrating gaze to Liam.
“There are too many inconsistencies with that theory. Phaser standing in the street, perfectly captured by a home security system. The Cowl we’re chasing giving us proof she did it just like that. That makes no sense and I know you agree with me. Why would she do it? The killer didn’t visit the other scenes before comitting murder. Why start now?” Liam asked. Ullr’s stare making him ramble on.
“Who knows why any Cowl does anything.”
“A person standing there like that only makes sense if it wasn’t her.”
That caught Ullr off guard. His response stuck in his throat.
“It was staged to throw us off the scent,” Liam said.
He could see the wheels turning in Ullr’s head. If this was a setup to hinder them, then who did it? The list of suspects was mighty small for that. They’d have to know who the team was after.
Realization started to spread over Ullr’s face. But Liam didn’t give him a chance to speak. Things couldn’t be stopped now.
“Then I found something else at the last scene. Just watch.”
Hitting the play button the screen changed. Shifting to Liam’s view of the night. There he was walking through the third crime scene. Trying to piece together the separate murders. The crumpled man in the corner begging for his attention, but the camera view shifted away from the form. He couldn’t focus in on the body right now.
As the screen moved back to the kitchen, Liam went over to Skip’s goo on the ground. Standing next to it, he waited for the team to arrive.
The team jumped in a moment later. But instead of being in front of Liam, where he expected them to appear. They jumped in behind him. Away from the first puddle of Skip goo. With each jump more puddles were left on the far side of Liam. While the first was an island of its own.
The video ended and Ullr looked over again. Squinting his eyes at Liam he said, “What was I looking for?”
“There were two sets of puddles! Skip teleported the team on one side of me, but there is another puddle by itself on the other side,” Liam said.
“Sure he jumped in to get his bearings then came back to get us. Nothing surprising there. I know you don’t like it when he jumps into crime scenes, but this looks clear cut to me. And I’ll be honest with you, it might not be best to continue this train of thought,” Ullr said. Already writing off what Liam was saying before the big reveal.
“I would never say this if I didn’t have the evidence. Look at this,” Liam said as he pulled up another picture of the kitchen. The new picture was a familiar one taken by the police after the Heroes left.
“Another picture of the kitchen. What does this prove?”
“Look at the timestamps on both pictures. The police took their picture two hours after we got to the scene. Yet one of Skips jump goo puddles is missing. The one sitting by itself,” Liam said as he spoke faster and faster. Pointing at the screen the new picture was indeed showing the missing liquid. “Skip’s goo lasts for four hours. We all know that. Yet it’s gone. Ullr you know what this means.”
“That the police timestamp is wrong?”
Why wasn’t he getting it, Liam screamed inside his head? Or did he know, but didn’t want to believe it?
“The clock on the microwave matches the picture’s timestamp.”
“He... was there before the police responded,” Ullr said. His voice slow and low as a hint of something glistening in his eye.
“Not just that! According to the coroner the victim died around two hours before we arrived.”
“Meaning Skip was there during the attack,” Ullr said. The spark of realization blooming into a fully understood idea. Closing his eyes, Ullr took long calming breaths.
“Exactly.”
“He would’ve told us,” Ullr made a feeble counter.
“Not if he was a part of it,” Liam said. And there it was, out in the open. All that was left was to see how Ullr took it.
Ullr’s face sank with each passing second. Liam realized he’d come to the same conclusion. He was just hoping Liam had one last curve ball to move the conversation somewhere else. But there was no such luck. Finally Ullr asked, “Who else did you tell?”
“Just you.”
“Good. Let me break it to H-Bar and Gladius. Losing two members as traitors will crush them.”
“I can only imagine,” Liam said with a small nod. He couldn’t even imagine how those two would respond to this. Losing a second member as a traitor would kill them.
“We have to stop him,” Ullr said. His eyes left unfocused as he stared ahead.
“We could call in help. Maybe The Watch could come,” Liam said. Calling in The Watch, the greatest Hero team in the country, was no easy ask. But this wasn’t an easy mission they found themselves in, it was extraordinary.
“No, it’s best if we keep this in house. Trust me it’ll be better for The Hunt if we do it this way,” Ullr said. His eyes focusing again on Liam. The man had been through one of these situations before. Liam would have to count on that knowledge to lead the team through this one.
“So what now?”
“We’ll lure him somewhere and spring a trap. It’s the same thing we did with Blue Feather. I’ll call Gladius and H-Bar and have them meet us somewhere secluded. Then we have Skip come in and we capture him. Since it’s secluded Skip won’t be able to cause any collateral damage.”
The calm way Ullr spoke filled Liam with confidence. The team stopped Blue Feather before. Now it was time to stop Skip.