Zack was first ushered into the Dean’s Office. The two capes who had slapped the cuffs on him gave Bob Weave a nod as they shove Zack into a nearby chair. They then left the room. Shaw shut the door behind them.
The two superheroes who arrested him looked strikingly familiar for some reason. The pair consisted of one man and one woman, with the man dressed in a green cape and the woman some sort of glistening high-tech leotard. If Zack had to guess, there were probably part of the tristate APB that Dirk Saber told him about.
He really could use Dirk Saber’s help right about now.
“Well, I think I speak for all of us when I say this is a very disappointing turn of events,” Bob Weave said, folding his arms on his desk.
Zack regarded him for a minute. He was still getting over the pain of losing Perry, the shock of seeing everything else in his life crumbled at his feet and one last kiss with Rachel.
That kiss . . .
Damn . . .
He needed to play this right. He needed for Perry’s death to not be in vain. His father’s killer was still on campus. Zack leaned back in his seat.
“I’ll say,” he said. “I haven’t even got my free phone call yet.”
Weave shot a glance towards Shaw, who remained behind Zack. She crossed her arms, her posture tight and narrow.
“This meeting is more . . . informational in nature,” Weave said. “To assess what charges may . . . or may not . . . be brought.”
“You guys haven’t even read me the Miranda rights,” Zack shrugged. “Seems very amateurish.”
“We’re not cops,” Shaw strode forward. “We don’t have to read you anything.”
“Sure, hon,” Zack yawned. “Everyone wants to be a cop until it’s time to do cop things. Then you put on your cape and look the other way.”
“Your father tell you that?” Shaw glared at him.
“No, I came up with that one all on my own,” Zack said. “It’s a bit long. I’m workshopping it.”
“Imitating a cape is a very serious offense,” Weave said. “Even if the cape in question is your father.”
“Would a permission slip help?” Zack said. “I think I have one from back in my house…oh wait . . . that’s not going to work.”
“You got jokes, huh? A student is dead because of you,” Shaw said. “Dozens more injured. The whole campus is in ruin. All. Because. Of. You.”
“That’s enough, Shaw,” Weave said.
“Seems like a pretty serious allegation,” Zack shot back. “Do I get a lawyer, or is that all not in the cards for this ‘informational’ meeting?”
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The mention of Perry’s death stung Zack, but he couldn’t show it. Playing a smartass pissed off Shaw, forcing Weave to spend half his time managing her. It was his best play for now.
“Was it you in the suit…” Shaw glared at him. “All the time?”
“It was,” Zack said. “Though my dad never told me about . . . well . . . you know . . . “
Shaw shrugged derisively. “Yeah, well, I’m sorry I didn’t rate high enough to factor into your intelligence briefings.”
Shaw looked at the door for a moment. She seemed distracted and off-her-game.
Good.
She turned back to Zack. “Though I’m surprised Zane hasn’t made an appearance yet. He hasn’t swooped out to rescue you. If anything, it looks like he’s leaving you to dry.”
Zack did his best not to look concerned. He knew the consequences the moment he decided to find Rachel instead of Icer. He had a chance to get out. He chose not to take it.
“You know my dad,” Zack said. “He loves being unpredictable.”
“Oh, it’s not him I’m curious about. I’ve had your father pegged for twenty years,” Shaw said.
“Can you please not use ‘pegged’ and my father in the same sentence?” Zack squirmed. Shaw rolled her eyes.
“You definitely inherited his devil-may-care attitude,” Shaw said. “I’m just wondering how far the apple rolled from the tree.”
She kept her eyes on the door, as if she expected Zane to walk in any minute and chastise his wayward son.
She’s going to be disappointed on that front.
Though, if Zack was really honest himself, he really hoped, against all reason or logic, his long-dead father really did walk through the door, even if it was to berate him for how badly he screwed all this up.
“So this was your plan all along?” Weave said, forcing Zack to turn his attention back to the older man. “You hired Icer to cause chaos on campus so we turned over security feeds to you, then you used your access to steal the Magnometer and manufacture an even bigger crisis on the campus? One you could take credit for stopping.”
Zack could see the logic in it. He wondered who this anonymous source was. Whoever they were, they knew a lot, even if they didn’t know everything.
Then again, it really didn’t know how much this source knew or didn’t know. At the end of the day, they didn’t know his father was dead. They missed his central motivation for starting all of this.
He could come clean, just like he had started to do with Rachel. He could tell everyone what really happened, finally explaining himself. Whether he was believed was another matter.
But in the end, that would tip this hand to whoever really did kill his father. From where Zack sat, both Shaw and Weave had equal enough reasons to want Zane dead.
Besides, all the good telling the truth did Perry.
He still heard the cracking of Perry’s cold skin when he closed his eyes. He hardened his features and looked Weave in the eyes.
“I think I want to talk to my lawyer now,” Zack said. Weave shook his head disdainfully.
“You’re about to get your wish,” he said. Zack suddenly heard a knock on his door. Shaw got up to answer it. Zack turned to the door, curious if it really was his father.
Shaw turned to him. “Your ride is here.”
She grabbed Zack by the wrist and led him outside by the cuffs. On the curb, Zack spotted a large prison transport flanked by several police officers armed to the teeth with Kevlar body armor and automatic weapons.
When supes committed crimes, they didn’t mess around.
The one nearest him began to read him his rights as the door to the prison transport swung open. Another police officer took Zack by the hand, ushering him into the darkness until he was completely consumed by it.