who wants to find whom.” He looked down. “A lot of heartbreak those first few days. A lot of names disappeared off the list as we figured out what happened.”
I chewed on the bottleneck to keep my mind on business. The brown glass clinked against my bottom teeth, the sharp pain forcing me to stay focused.
Kit took another deep swallow and fell silent, his one good eye focused on the floor.
Harris picked up the cue and ran with it, almost bursting at the seams as he rambled. “Anyway, a few days after the big fight at Toronto, this Controller dude comes online, bragging that he’s got Agency equipment for the right supers who want to sign up with him. Join his team and see the world, get the good life. No one pays much attention to him, you know? Just a babbling old fool who’s tripped into the wrong room. Not to mention no one believes he’s got access to anything. Rumors start about whether he’s a super or an Agency plant, trying to entice us back down the rabbit hole. A few of the tough old boys get the info and go offline to find out, see if he’s serious about offering a new deal or see if he’s Agency trying to pull us back under control. They don’t come back. People stop talking about him. If they’re talking about teams, they’re talking about the Protectors, you guys being out in the open and all. No Guardians other than Hunter, and everyone agrees he’s pretty cool.”
Harris rolled the bottle between his hands. “I watched ’em talk online, some of the old crew babbling about the past. Fighting Tiny Tinman and Fiery Brian, the good old days. I’m rolling through Ohio on the way out west, ask about any supers in the area I could hook up with, network and all that to maybe find a job and a couch to crash on, and Kit drops me a line, says we should hook up.”
“Total coincidence,” Kit interjected. “I was wandering around, trying to figure out what to do with myself. Logged on to the network at a café in Columbus and saw Harris here was gonna be traveling through in a few days.”
“You two ever fight each other?” Mentally I scrolled through past battles I’d seen and fought in.
“Nope, not in my league. But a super’s a super,” Harris replied. “Anyway, so Kit and me get together, have a coffee and start talking, and we decide to head out of the city together. End up here doing The Odd Couple thing, ’cept we’re both sort of slobs.”
My head was getting fuzzy, and it wasn’t just from the booze. “Wait. Back up. I’m still trying to figure out how you think Dykovski is this Controller dude.”
Kit scratched his chin. “Surf, I ain’t no idiot. I know Dykovski’s a Guardian, I know he’s got no problem pulling shit out of Agency caves and bunkers to create his brave new world. Don’t take a genius to put two and two together and figure he’s using the name Controller to make himself sound cool.” He spread his mammoth hands. “Can’t think of anyone else who’d be trying to do that. If you’ve got another name to toss at me, do it.”
I stayed silent.
“Okay. So don’t try to play me by saying maybe this guy isn’t Dykovski.” A grin spread. “But you knew that already and was working me for info. Not cool, Surf. Not cool.”
Harris put out his hand, patting down the tension. “She’s okay, Kit. She’s just being careful.”
He nodded and attacked the bottle again before speaking. “I know that. She’s no dumb bunny, she got that team together and all. That’s why I didn’t mind playing along.”
I wasn’t sure where I stood, so I plowed forward. “So Dykovski’s been advertising for supers to join him by offering high-tech toys. He got a few answers, but most of you, having brains, didn’t go for it.”
“Yep,” Kit confirmed. “And when he wasn’t getting a lot of responses, I figure he started hunting. Lie low and lurk in the room, see who’s visiting who where and at what time. People are being careful, but you got the right
I chewed on the bottleneck to keep my mind on business. The brown glass clinked against my bottom teeth, the sharp pain forcing me to stay focused.
Kit took another deep swallow and fell silent, his one good eye focused on the floor.
Harris picked up the cue and ran with it, almost bursting at the seams as he rambled. “Anyway, a few days after the big fight at Toronto, this Controller dude comes online, bragging that he’s got Agency equipment for the right supers who want to sign up with him. Join his team and see the world, get the good life. No one pays much attention to him, you know? Just a babbling old fool who’s tripped into the wrong room. Not to mention no one believes he’s got access to anything. Rumors start about whether he’s a super or an Agency plant, trying to entice us back down the rabbit hole. A few of the tough old boys get the info and go offline to find out, see if he’s serious about offering a new deal or see if he’s Agency trying to pull us back under control. They don’t come back. People stop talking about him. If they’re talking about teams, they’re talking about the Protectors, you guys being out in the open and all. No Guardians other than Hunter, and everyone agrees he’s pretty cool.”
Harris rolled the bottle between his hands. “I watched ’em talk online, some of the old crew babbling about the past. Fighting Tiny Tinman and Fiery Brian, the good old days. I’m rolling through Ohio on the way out west, ask about any supers in the area I could hook up with, network and all that to maybe find a job and a couch to crash on, and Kit drops me a line, says we should hook up.”
“Total coincidence,” Kit interjected. “I was wandering around, trying to figure out what to do with myself. Logged on to the network at a café in Columbus and saw Harris here was gonna be traveling through in a few days.”
“You two ever fight each other?” Mentally I scrolled through past battles I’d seen and fought in.
“Nope, not in my league. But a super’s a super,” Harris replied. “Anyway, so Kit and me get together, have a coffee and start talking, and we decide to head out of the city together. End up here doing The Odd Couple thing, ’cept we’re both sort of slobs.”
My head was getting fuzzy, and it wasn’t just from the booze. “Wait. Back up. I’m still trying to figure out how you think Dykovski is this Controller dude.”
Kit scratched his chin. “Surf, I ain’t no idiot. I know Dykovski’s a Guardian, I know he’s got no problem pulling shit out of Agency caves and bunkers to create his brave new world. Don’t take a genius to put two and two together and figure he’s using the name Controller to make himself sound cool.” He spread his mammoth hands. “Can’t think of anyone else who’d be trying to do that. If you’ve got another name to toss at me, do it.”
I stayed silent.
“Okay. So don’t try to play me by saying maybe this guy isn’t Dykovski.” A grin spread. “But you knew that already and was working me for info. Not cool, Surf. Not cool.”
Harris put out his hand, patting down the tension. “She’s okay, Kit. She’s just being careful.”
He nodded and attacked the bottle again before speaking. “I know that. She’s no dumb bunny, she got that team together and all. That’s why I didn’t mind playing along.”
I wasn’t sure where I stood, so I plowed forward. “So Dykovski’s been advertising for supers to join him by offering high-tech toys. He got a few answers, but most of you, having brains, didn’t go for it.”
“Yep,” Kit confirmed. “And when he wasn’t getting a lot of responses, I figure he started hunting. Lie low and lurk in the room, see who’s visiting who where and at what time. People are being careful, but you got the right
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