highly unusual for him. Hector always picked up my calls. This only deepened my worry about him.
Lena did her best to calm me, but it didn’t help much. I kept going onto the Facebook message and tried to read into it, trying to see if there were any clues in the message. Sadly, code breaking was not my strong suit. All I could think of was that my good friend, Hector, was in trouble—I would go to any lengths to save him. These men who were holding Hector had just awakened a sleeping giant. Me.
Chapter Eleven
The next day, I flew into the nearest town and bought another cell phone under a phony name. I wanted to be in contact with these people but I couldn’t compromise my true identity, even if they had an idea who I was. I responded to the private message on Facebook and gave them my new cell number.
Within a couple of hours, I got a call.
“Hello?” I answered.
“Is this the new superhero?” asked a mysterious voice.
No one had this number except for my dearest and most trustworthy friends. For Hector to give these pieces of crap my information must mean he was in dire straits and he needed help…pronto.
The man repeated. “Is this our little superhero friend?”
“That depends,” I said. “Who is this?
“This is the one who might not kill your friend.”
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. If you even lay a finger on him, I will hunt you down like a dog and there would be no superhero ending where you’d be delivered to the authorities. No, my friend. After my hunt, I would take pleasure in killing each one of you individually. And slowly.”
My indignation surprised the hell out of the guy on the other line. It flustered him to no end.
“Are you willing to negotiate? Yes or no!” The man was now irate.
Apparently, that little diatribe of mine put a little bit of fear in them. So, I decided to take another approach. “Negotiations go both ways.” I said, “What do you want from me?”
“Hector has several accounts in different banks. We know the two of you are close and we know you don’t want him to die a terrible slow, agonizing death.”
I was at a loss for words. These were indeed vampires I was dealing with. How else could they have put this all together? They had to know who I was, and they had to know enough about me to know Hector and I were good friends, and they had to know, somehow, that Hector had big money.
“I understand,” I said. I understood more than they knew. I understood that my good friend was in trouble and that I would find a way to get him out of this, one way or another.
“Good, Vampire Superhero,” the voice said. “We’re in New York. Your friend is here with us. You need to come here if you want him to live.”
I thought fast. “How do I know you really have him?” I asked.
Then I heard Hector. “Friend,” he said, and I knew he was trying to keep my true name out of this situation. “I’m okay. I don’t think they’ll—” and then his voice was gone. But I knew it was him, and I came to the realization that this was really going down.
Then the other voice came on the phone. “You’ve heard that he’s alive,” the voice said. “Now, if you want to keep him alive, you be in New York within twenty-four hours. Keep this phone number, and we will call you with further instructions.”
They hung up. I stared at the phone like it was some kind of alien space object.
This is for real , I thought. Someone had Hector and I had to fly to New York to save him. I could be in New York within twenty-four hours, easy. And I had another idea, too. Yes, I was a superhero, but the stakes were so high that it never hurt to have some back up.
Chapter Twelve
I punched in Tommy’s number. It was like an unspoken oath between us that we would always help each other.
“Hey, Josiah, how’s it going?” Tommy asked. He recognized my new number and I could tell from the background noise that he was watching some kind of
Lena did her best to calm me, but it didn’t help much. I kept going onto the Facebook message and tried to read into it, trying to see if there were any clues in the message. Sadly, code breaking was not my strong suit. All I could think of was that my good friend, Hector, was in trouble—I would go to any lengths to save him. These men who were holding Hector had just awakened a sleeping giant. Me.
Chapter Eleven
The next day, I flew into the nearest town and bought another cell phone under a phony name. I wanted to be in contact with these people but I couldn’t compromise my true identity, even if they had an idea who I was. I responded to the private message on Facebook and gave them my new cell number.
Within a couple of hours, I got a call.
“Hello?” I answered.
“Is this the new superhero?” asked a mysterious voice.
No one had this number except for my dearest and most trustworthy friends. For Hector to give these pieces of crap my information must mean he was in dire straits and he needed help…pronto.
The man repeated. “Is this our little superhero friend?”
“That depends,” I said. “Who is this?
“This is the one who might not kill your friend.”
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you. If you even lay a finger on him, I will hunt you down like a dog and there would be no superhero ending where you’d be delivered to the authorities. No, my friend. After my hunt, I would take pleasure in killing each one of you individually. And slowly.”
My indignation surprised the hell out of the guy on the other line. It flustered him to no end.
“Are you willing to negotiate? Yes or no!” The man was now irate.
Apparently, that little diatribe of mine put a little bit of fear in them. So, I decided to take another approach. “Negotiations go both ways.” I said, “What do you want from me?”
“Hector has several accounts in different banks. We know the two of you are close and we know you don’t want him to die a terrible slow, agonizing death.”
I was at a loss for words. These were indeed vampires I was dealing with. How else could they have put this all together? They had to know who I was, and they had to know enough about me to know Hector and I were good friends, and they had to know, somehow, that Hector had big money.
“I understand,” I said. I understood more than they knew. I understood that my good friend was in trouble and that I would find a way to get him out of this, one way or another.
“Good, Vampire Superhero,” the voice said. “We’re in New York. Your friend is here with us. You need to come here if you want him to live.”
I thought fast. “How do I know you really have him?” I asked.
Then I heard Hector. “Friend,” he said, and I knew he was trying to keep my true name out of this situation. “I’m okay. I don’t think they’ll—” and then his voice was gone. But I knew it was him, and I came to the realization that this was really going down.
Then the other voice came on the phone. “You’ve heard that he’s alive,” the voice said. “Now, if you want to keep him alive, you be in New York within twenty-four hours. Keep this phone number, and we will call you with further instructions.”
They hung up. I stared at the phone like it was some kind of alien space object.
This is for real , I thought. Someone had Hector and I had to fly to New York to save him. I could be in New York within twenty-four hours, easy. And I had another idea, too. Yes, I was a superhero, but the stakes were so high that it never hurt to have some back up.
Chapter Twelve
I punched in Tommy’s number. It was like an unspoken oath between us that we would always help each other.
“Hey, Josiah, how’s it going?” Tommy asked. He recognized my new number and I could tell from the background noise that he was watching some kind of
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