Colby’s first stop was an electronics store, to pick up a portable hard drive. A hundred and fifty bucks later, she had two, and was on her way back to the nearest Web café. Soon, she was ensconced in a small booth, with a rented laptop, a large mocha latte and her determination.
She logged on, and accessed the net – then began tracking Trask’s industries activity on the web, slowly tracing them back to their servers – and then infiltrating the servers to gain access to Trask’s secrets. Bolivar Trask had some of the best security in Empire City – but slowly and surely, Colby was able to bypass the firewalls and security gates – not with ease, but she didn’t particularly have to extend herself either. Eventually – after about 3 hours in the café, she had reached a point where all she had to do was press enter, and she’d have full access to his mainframe.
Colby couldn’t help but pause a moment, amazed at what she’d done. I’ve never been a hacker before this stuff happened, she thought. Now I can interface with machines mentally. This is whacked. I wonder if there’s a computer or electronic device on the planet I couldn’t get into? That’s not just power, it’s almost infinite power. I could crash stock markets, or even governments. Oh my god… She just stared in shock as the penny dropped. She was a living biological and computer virus. She could interface and infect, change and replicate. She shuddered at the thought of what her powers could have been used for if someone else had got them… If I can bioengineer things like actual viruses with my powers, I could literally destroy the world, she thought. I can never let that happen. I can never let my power be used that way. I’m not a terrorist – but with these powers, I could be. Oh my god!
She shuddered at the thought and debated turning the computer off, and saying ‘no’ – but she and Allan needed the data – and no one was getting hurt. That mattered a lot to Colby – a hell of a lot. I guess I meant it when I was thinking that I’m a ‘save people’ type of hero and not a ‘law and order’ type hero. She pressed Enter, knowing that doing so she was completing probably her 10th felony of the day. At least it’s for the right reason – taking down a scumbag like Bolivar Trask. I’d better make sure I don’t get arrogant with these abilities… I don’t want to become part of the problem.
As she watched, Bolivar Trask’s mainframe opened itself up to her, and she began downloading files, searching for anything relevant. Another hour passed – and soon the hard drives she had brought were full. If there’s any more data, I don’t think I can find it this go around. Huh. It’s probably going to take days to access and understand all this data – hell, most of it is probably redundant or not relevant – but it’s still worth having. She unplugged the portable hard drives, and logged off the computer. It was time to go. Allan still needed his gun and his badge, and to be honest, before looking for a gun shop on the internet earlier today, Colby had had no idea where to go to buy a gun, or what was needed to buy a gun. Some crime fighter I am, she thought, jokingly. I don’t even know the basics. Too bad there isn’t a two-year degree in basic Vigilantism. I’d sign up for that in a heartbeat…
She took a sip of her coffee, and realized it was long gone. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, she thought. I’ve been here almost four hours. Time to go. She returned the computer, paid the bill – again on her hacked prepaid VISA – and headed out. An hour and a few changes in her appearance later, Colby, disguised as Detective Allan Taylor had a new 9mm handgun with ammunition, and a shiny new badge. She emerged from the gun shop, and found a convenient alley to change back to herself in, changing to her Virus form – minus the costume.
I don’t know if I like having all this power, Colby thought. It’s a hell of a lot of responsibility. I’m not sure I’m ready for it – hell I’m not sure anyone should have this level of power. What am I going to do about it? It’s not like I could give them away – and even if I could I have no idea who I could trust enough to give them to. It’s too much. Colby walked back to the hotel, wondering what Darryl was up to. He would know what to say to make it better, she thought.
* * *
Darryl sat watching the Patriots versus the Wardens game on the television. Football was great at the stadium, but it wasn’t bad at home with friends. Too bad Colby couldn’t be here, he thought. I really wanted to spend some time with her. I hope she’s okay. Darryl mused a bit more, wondering at how their relationship – his and Kayden’s – now Colby’s situations had changed so radically, so quickly. It amazed him – but not in a bad way – at how quickly he and she had bonded, how the one difference between them changed best friends to more than friends. Life is funny. He thought. He put his attention back to the game – and realized he’s just missed a 40 yard toss that resulted in a sweet touchdown for the Patriots. The Wardens were behind 21-17. Why am I even bothering, he thought. I’m not paying attention – I’m too distracted. He turned off the television, and called Marten, and arranged to meet for a coffee. I might as well hang with a few friends, he thought. Who knows how long it will be before Colby comes back. God, I miss her.
* * *
Hazard Man and Mr. Chips had been busy in the last few hours. Their new base of operations was an abandoned warehouse in the Railyard district. Where do these warehouses come from, he wondered. There are at least three within a six block radius. Can people really afford to let the real estate go to waste? Maybe I should try and fix the local economy when I’m done killing Bolivar Trask? Yeah… ‘Hazard man saves local economy’ has a nice ring to it, he thought. It would probably go well too, until a costumed do gooder like Virus showed up.
“Why don’t we kill her next time we fight? What do you think of that, boy?” he asked.
“Yip! Yip!” Mr. Chips thought back to how she had hurt Master, and thought that was just a fine idea indeed.
“So it’s settled.” Hazard man decided. “Next time we fight, if we can, we kill her.”
“Yarf! Yap!” Mr. Chips was curious at what his Master was doing.
“Putting in some electrical shielding, as well as some eye protection and a few other gizmos into my gear, so she can’t shock me again, or spray stuff in my eyes. She’s sneaky – and I need to out think her; unfortunately, I don’t think like an adventurer – so I’m kind of winging it, Mr. Chips.”
“We’ve got a new target too, Mr. Chips. Trask Electronics. A simple EMP bomb on the roof will make his factory and all his inventory simply scrap – and then we move on to his other holdings. We’ll destroy his infrastructure piece by piece until either Virus shows up and we kill her, or until we succeed and kill Trask. It’s a win-win, buddy.”
“Yip! Yip!” Mr. Chips grinned. He liked winning.
* * *
Colby returned to the hotel room to find Detective Taylor grinning from ear to ear. “What’s up, Allan?”
“The information I found earlier today is exactly what we need, Vi – that’s what’s up.” Allan smiled. “Sinclair is done, and there’s a good chance we can nail Trask with this information too – but we’d need a bit more to make it stick. Hopefully that’s what you’ve got for me. How did it go.”
Colby smiled. “It went as expected. I got the info – probably more than we need – and brought it with me. Oh – I also got you a new gun and a new badge. I got you a Glock 19 and a Sig Sauer P226, although to be honest I don’t know the difference between them.” She slid Allan his new guns and ammunition, and his new badge.
“They’re both really good guns.” Allan said. “I think the Glock is slightly more accurate, but the Sig Sauer feels better in my hand, and it has a few features I really like. I could go into more detail, but that’s really the crux of it.”
“Good to know. Thanks.” Colby replied. “What’s our next move? Contacting your prosecutor friend?”
“Not a bad place to start.” Allan thought a moment. “You might need to contact him – unless I get a new face, I can’t exactly go see him – we’d give away the whole ploy, and I might end up really dead.”
“I can get you a new face.” Colby replied.
Allan shook his head. “I’d rather not do that again, thanks. Once was way more than enough for me, Vi.”
“Okay. I can do it.” Colby looked at the time; it was late afternoon in early November. Darkness was falling, and unless Assistant District Attorney Jim Lincoln was working on a Sunday, he should be at home. A quick interface with the Wifi in the hotel gave her the D.A’s home address, and she got ready to go. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“No worries.” Detective Taylor replied. “I’ve got nowhere else to go at the moment. Take some of the evidence to tantalize him with.”
“Good idea, Allan. Will do.” Vi picked up a copy of the Thumbdrive from Detective Sinclair’s office, and one of the two portable hard drives from her sojourn earlier that afternoon, and put them in her purse. “See you soon, once I know if he’s legit or not.”
“Good luck, Vi.”
“Thanks, Allan.”
* * *
The home of District Attorney Jim Lincoln was north of the Plaza – an area with several pricey high-rise condominiums that sold for more money that Colby was capable of stomaching. The area north of the Plaza was called Lewiston, and it was a suburb of Empire City that had a great deal of money. The houses and neighborhoods were usually nice, well appointed, and safe – and the cost to live in Lewiston was commensurate with that luxury and safety. The fact that a District Attorney could afford to live here wasn’t a great sign, Virus thought, but maybe he came from old money, or maybe his wife if he had one was loaded?
She glided up on her wings, and landed quietly nearby, where there were no witnesses and no cameras – an interesting feat in the heavily CCTV’d neighborhood. Changing into her civilian form of Virus, she walked up to 654 Prescott lane, and knocked. A few minutes later, someone came to the door. Surprisingly for Vi, it seemed to be the DA himself!
“Hello? Can I help you, miss?” Jim Lincoln was a young man, just under thirty years of age, who looked fit and trim like he took good care of himself. From the look of him, Virus wouldn’t be surprised if he went to a gym regularly. He had short cropped brown hair, and stylish good looks.
Geez, he must be good with the ladies, She thought. “Mr. Lincoln, I have information you might find interesting about the murder of Detective Allan Taylor – about who did the deed, who paid him for it, and who contracted it. May I come inside?”
District Attorney Lincoln looked like he was thinking it over a moment. “Come in,” he said. He moved back from the door, and allowed Virus inside, and closed the door. “You know who I am, miss – so who are you? I like to know who I’m talking to.”
“I suppose that’s fair, Mr. Lincoln.” Vi replied, sensing around the home with her electronic senses. There was decent wifi, and some radio signals from the kitchen – two cell phones, one belonging to Captain Shelly Forsythe. “You’re not alone, though, are you?”
Virus could hear the sound of a gun cocking across the room, and turned to see Captain Forsythe aiming a pistol at her. “No, he’s not. Mr. Lincoln asked you your name.”
“I’m Virus – a superheroine, and friend to Detective Taylor. I did some digging after his death – and I found some evidence that proves someone had a contract out to kill him. I have records of payments. I have names, dates, addresses of at least a dozen killings, and lots more. What I want to know is what you two are going to do about it? Should I trust you? Bolivar Trask has half the city bought and paid for, after all.”
“You! You were at the police station earlier today, weren’t you?” Captain Forsythe demanded.
“Yes I was, Captain – but I wasn’t playing the role you think I was.” Virus paused. “Can you put the gun down, please? I assure you that even though five or six bullets won’t put me down, they do hurt a great deal – and I’ll bleed all over Mr. Lincoln’s floor.”
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“Shelly, I think it’s okay. If she’s Virus, she won’t hurt us – and if she’s with Trask, it’s already too late. Please, come on into the kitchen.” Jim led the way inside, and Virus followed – with Captain Forsythe bringing up the rear.
As Virus followed Jim Lincoln to the kitchen, she interfaced with his home computer, his cell phone, and his tablet – and found zero contact between him and Bolivar Trask, and minimal contact between him and Detective Sinclair. What she did find was that Jim and Shelly seemed to be having a torrid office romance that virtually no one knew about, save herself and those two. Virus noticed some really inventive uses for emoticons on their phones she decided to save to use with Darryl later, and got her attention back to the situation at hand. I don’t think he’s connected to Trask – and if Allan is right, she definitely is not as well. Good.
In the kitchen, it looked as if she had interrupted a romantic dinner between the two. “Sorry about interrupting your dinner. I gather you two don’t many chances to spend time together?” Virus asked.
“Well, not that it’s your business.” Shelly replied. “But you’re right. So is what you’ve got worth the interruption?”
Virus nodded, and sat in a chair. “I have computer files that prove Detective Donald Sinclair was hired by Bolivar Trask to kill Detective Allan Taylor. There is also other evidence of murder committed by Detective Sinclair at Trask’s behest – and records of payments to the tune of half a million dollars a year, for many, many years. I also know for a fact he asked me to kill Doctor Justin Pierce – Hazard man – and I refused, and I know he asked Allan Taylor to kill him too. Allan refused – and thus the contract on him.”
“Damn, Jim!” Shelly said. “If this is true, we’ve got what we need to nail them both! We can clean up this damn city!”
“Agreed.” Jim replied. “But let’s go slow, Shelly – we need to be careful. We don’t want to end up dead like Allan.”
“Oh – Allan’s not dead.” Virus interjected. “He was shot and left for dead, and I found him, healed him, and hid him somewhere safe, so that we could bring Trask and Sinclair down. I can get him on the phone if you like?”
“He’s alive?!” Captain Forsythe exclaimed, nearly having a spit-take. “Yes! I want to talk to him, please!”
Virus nodded. “Just a second.” She pulled out her burner phone, and called Detective Taylor. “Hey – Allan? It’s Vi. I need you to listen. I made contact with Jim and Shelly – and they want to talk to you – but as soon as we’re done, you pull the battery on the phone I gave you and move, understand? Go to my place. That way if anyone’s watching, you’ll be safe.”
“Okay, I can do that.” Allan replied. “Now what? Are they clean?”
“Yeah, as far as I can tell. Here’s Captain Forsythe.”
Shelly grabbed the phone from Virus, and started talking. “Allan, is it really you?”
“Yeah, it’s me, Captain. I nearly bought it, too. Sinclair was behind it. I can tell you more when we meet.”
“Thank god you’re alive!” She exclaimed. “Is the evidence Virus has for real?”
“As real as it gets, Captain, although she might have bent a law or two to get it. The stuff on Sinclair though is clean as a whistle. So what now, Cap? Can we make a move? If we can’t, I have to leave town, or I’m really dead. Virus can’t pull my fat out of the fryer every time.”
“It’s Allan – he says the story is legit.” Shelly repeated to Jim. “He wants to know if we can move on Sinclair and Trask.”
Jim thought a moment, and realized he had only one answer. “It depends on the evidence Virus has gathered for us – if there’s enough, then yes – and if not, then no. I need an iron-clad case, or we’re dead in the water.”
Shelly repeated the reply back to Allan. “He says he understands – and he’s sure we’ve got enough. He wants to talk to you now Virus.”
“Hey, Allan.” Virus said. “You’re wondering now what?”
“Pretty much.” Allan replied.
“Go to my place, and hole up there till I get back. I’ll fill you in on what happened here. Keep your eyes and ears peeled.”
“Gotcha. Hanging up and pulling battery in 3. Taylor out.”
“Detective Taylor hung up and is moving his location.” Virus said. “We’re being a bit paranoid.”
Jim Lincoln nodded, and so did Shelly. It made sense when someone like Trask wanted you dead. “I need to see the evidence, Virus. All that you have with you.”
“Sure, Mr. Lincoln – but I suggest you and Miss Forsythe finish what you can of dinner first – it’s going to be a long evening.”
* * *
Hazard Man finished setting the last of the arming codes on the EMP bomb, while Mr. Chips stood watch. So far, no do-gooders like Virus – and no cops or hit men from Trask, either. It was going very smoothly. In later months, Hazard Man would look back on things and realize this is when he should have been the most concerned – but like Virus, he was a relative newbie to the world of heroes and villains, and like Virus, made mistakes.
However, tonight, none of those mistakes would stop Bolivar Trask from losing his precious Electronics company, and over 200 million dollars of stock in his warehouse next to his electronics factory. Anything stored on a computer circuit within a city block would be so much slag in about fifteen minutes.
“Time to go, Mr. Chips. Let’s watch the fireworks from the roof of the Bank on 5th Street.”
“Yip! Yip!” Mr. Chips barked. This was going to be fun!
The two flew over to the bank – Hazard Man using his winged jetpack, and Mr. Chips using his rocket pack. While they waited, Hazard Man pulled a storage bag of microwave popcorn – butter flavor, of course – from his pack and offered some to Mr. Chips. They sat together, nibbling on the popcorn until the light show was about to begin.
A few minutes later, there was a blue burst of light from the top of the Trask electronics building – and the glow radiated outward for a hundred yards in every direction, shutting down and overloading every electronic device from wristwatches, to hearing aids, to pacemakers – and also every computerized object within the blast radius. Hazard Man didn’t see it at the time, but three people dropped dead, due to their pacemakers exploding in the their chests, and seven people suffered serious wounds from damaged electronics and prosthetics. Six people were trapped in elevators, for however long it would take to find and rescue them. For everyone else, the power went out – and so did the heat. The area around Trask Electronics was black and cold, like how Hazard man envisaged Trask’s heart. The cold November wind blew around the rooftops, and carried the scent of approaching winter with it. Hazard man could hear the cries of alarm all the way over to 5th street. He could already imagine Bolivar Trasks’ screams of rage when he found out about the disaster.
It was glorious.
* * *
“I want that mad man dead, and I want him dead tonight!” Bolivar Trask screamed. “He just cost me close to 250 million dollars!” Trask was on the phone with his backup problem solver, and it wasn’t going well.
“It would be my pleasure, Sir.” Said a friendly female voice from his cell phone. “Just as soon as you wire the money to my private account. I have to be sure you can afford my services, sir. You did just suffer a major financial loss.”
“You’ll get your money when he’s dead!” Trask yelled.
“No, Sir, that’s not how this works, and you know it. I get paid 20 million dollars per contract, paid half in advance, or I walk. You pay the rest when the target is dead. If you don’t pay… well, I’m sure you understand what happens next. I want 20 million for Justin Pierce, also known as Hazard Man, 20 million for his robotic dog, and 20 million for Virus. If your next response is not ‘Yes ma’am, I’ll wire you the money,’ then I walk, and you can deal with these problems yourself, Mr. Trask. I don’t appreciate my time being wasted, Mr. Trask.”
Bolivar Trask was so enraged, he turned purple. How dare this little bitch talk to him that way!? Still, rumor had it she was the best at what she did. She had never failed to kill her targets – and never failed to kill clients who didn’t pay up. She was called “The Sniper” – and for obvious reasons, no one had ever seen her face and lived. No one knew where she lived, what she looked like, or how old she was. She was a cipher – a ghost in the machine – and she operated on a level that even Bolivar Trask found intimidating. Rumor was she was the person to go to when governments wanted someone dead, and didn’t want to do it in-house. She never refused a job – and she never failed. But 60 million dollars?! That was ridiculous! And 20 million for just the stupid dog?! Never! He ground his teeth in frustration and anger, swearing that if he ever met this woman, he would make her pay for humiliating him.
“That won’t be happening. Do you have any idea what kind of hell I could bring down on you, bitch? I can see this was a waste of my time. Go to hell! I’ll find someone else.”
The voice on the other end of the phone paused. “Is that a threat, Mr. Trask? I don’t respond well to threats. I’ll do you a favor this time, and assume it’s part of your famous volatile temper, but I assure you if you waste my time again, or ever threaten me again, you will regret it. Don’t call back. I don’t need business from you.” The phone line disconnected.
Trask screamed in impotent rage and frustration, and threw his cell phone across the room, where it shattered on the far wall. He panted and gasped as his rage fled, and he felt empty and hollow. This isn’t how things should be, he thought. I’m the boss. I’m in control. Dammit! Everything was starting to fall apart, and Trask felt something he hadn’t felt in a very long time begin to creep in… Helplessness.
* * *
District Attorney Jim Lincoln and Police Captain Shelly Forsythe looked at each other from across the computer screen. They had everything… Accounts, contracts, shooters – all of Trasks’ dirty laundry for the last ten years, as well as some crimes that went back 15+ years, and some shady business practices the IRS might find interesting as well. It might as well have been presented to them wrapped up in a golden bow.
“I don’t even want to know how you got all this, Virus.” Jim said. “But it’s everything we could ever need to prosecute Trask. He’ll go away for the rest of his natural life, if he’s lucky enough to avoid the death penalty. I say we go ahead and prosecute.”
“I agree.” Shelly replied. “I need 12 hours to round up as many honest cops as I can find. I’ll have a task force ready by 9am tomorrow morning.”
“Do you think Detective Taylor will want to be in on the arrest, Virus?” Jim asked.
Virus smiled. “Yeah, I think he would like that. I’ll get him to call you once I make contact with him. I can scramble the phone so it can’t be traced if I’m with him, so it’ll be fine.”
“Then let’s do this! Shelly, start getting your task force. I’ll get the warrants. Virus – you tell Detective Taylor the good news, and get him in touch with Shelly. We’ll handle Trask – your job now is to find and stop Hazard Man for good, before he hurts anyone else or sets off another bomb.”
“Sounds good to me.” Virus scanned the net and the police band for any news – and growled in anger. “Something’s happened at the Trask Electronics factory. All the power is out and there are numerous small fires. I’m on my way.” Virus ran for the door, and leapt into the air, transforming her body into a winged version of herself. Her wings beat in a heavy rhythm as she raced towards 5th street, in the downtown core. Maybe if she was lucky, Hazard Man would still be there.
As she soared above the streets of Empire city, Virus couldn’t help but feel the elation she had held earlier when flying – it was amazing to swoop and soar by the feeling and beating of your own wings. If the timing were better, and less were on the line, she realized she wouldn’t mind making a day of it, just flying around. Right now, though, she had things she needed to do.
Hazard man – Justin Pierce – and his robot dog Mr. Chips were still watching events unfold when Virus arrived on the scene. They were about five blocks away, watching the panicked people and medics and police officers run to and fro. Hazard Man looked positively gleeful. Virus cursed. Those people were scared, and possibly hurt or worse. This had to stop, and stop now. She landed behind the two of them, folding her wings in as she landed, morphing them away to enhance her speed, agility and strength.
“Hazard Man! Justin! It’s over. Surrender peacefully and I’ll try and see you get the help that you need.”
Hazard man and Mr. Chips whirled to see Virus standing on the far side of the building from them. She looked like she meant business. That was okay – so did he. “And why should I do that, Virus? I don’t think you can beat me – especially not with Mr. Chips helping me. Trask needs to pay – and I intend to make him pay.”
“He will pay! I have it on good authority that the District Attorney and the Chief of Police are going to arrest him first thing in the morning. He’ll be going to jail – he’ll probably get the death penalty. Let the law handle it.” Virus tried to convince him – tried to help him see that he didn’t have to do this. By the end of her speech, she knew she had failed. She kept her eyes trained on Mr. Chips, so he couldn’t sneak up on her again. Burn me once, shame on you, she thought. Burn me twice, shame on me.
“No!” Hazard man yelled. “He was going to kill me. He was going to kill Mr. Chips! I want revenge! I want revenge for all the years he ground me down, working for him – trying to make medical breakthroughs to save people… to save my dog. I was trying to cure cancer – to cure leukemia – and he wouldn’t help. He fought me every step of the way! Even if I had succeeded, he wouldn’t have given the cure to people! He would have charged a fortune for it, so that only the incredibly rich could afford it. It would change nothing. I could have cured one of the great diseases of mankind, and I will never let small minds like that hinder me again! He thinks he’s above the law – well, so am I and I am going to kill him!”
Virus knew there was one last chance to reach him. She could tell something inside him was fighting – the part that was Justin, and the part he called Hazard man – like they were two sides of the same coin. I might be able to reach him if I show him he succeeded. If I show him Kayden.
Virus took a deep breath and morphed to Kayden. “I know, Doctor Pierce. You asked me to help you, remember?”
“Kayden? Kayden Ballard? I… I killed you. The experiment was a failure.”
“No, Dr. Pierce. It was a success. You wanted the cure. I am the cure. I can cure anything. I can heal people. You killed me – you shot me twice and left me on the floor of the clinic next to David’s body, and I came back. I could have saved Mr. Chips, if you had waited. I would have tried.”
Dr. Pierce started as he had a facial tic, and laughed. At first they were small – like snickers or titters, but soon he was laughing great belly laughs. It was as if he finally realized the cosmic joke he had played on himself. “I hurt my dog. I hurt Mr. Chips. You could have saved him.” He laughed again, this time a little manically. “And now they want you for David’s murder. Life’s a bitch, isn’t it, Kayden?”
“It gets better, Dr. Pierce. You can come back from this. Turn yourself in. Get the help you need to heal.”
Dr. Pierce looked down at his new-made friend, Mr. Chips. He thought of what he had to do to save him – to place Mr. Chips’ little doggie mind into that highly advanced robot body. About what he had to do to himself to make that possible. He came to the obvious conclusion: There was no going back to Justin – Justin was weak. People walked all over Justin. He would never go back. Not now - not ever! He looked at Virus and his laughter stopped. “I can’t. I won’t. If you want me to stop, Virus, you’re going to have to stop me. Get in my way, and this time I’ll kill you. I’ll keep killing you until I find a way to make it stick.”
“Now decide.” Hazard man demanded. “Fight and die, or get out of my way!” He waited for Virus’ answer.