The Prospects (Book 2): Nothing Poorer Than Gods by Daniel Halayko Page A

ago.”
    Alex said, “Why is no one listening to a word I say?”
    “If you want to walk away, Alexander, you can,” said Stormhead. “As for me, I intend to save lives and stop killers.”
    “Me too,” said Trista.
    Alex got face-to-face with Trista. He felt the cool tingle under his skull when she made a psychic link with him.
    These people almost got us killed last month, he thought. We can’t trust them.
    She thought, You told me to do what it takes to become strong again. This is it.
    Alex broke eye contact. Trista let the link break.
    “We have the body of a ten-year-old girl with signs of being only a year old, a mind from the wrong gender, and our sponsor’s competitor’s logo,” said Stormhead, “but I think we should start with our own company’s involvement.”
    Harry said, “I can’t say much. I joined Griffin Industries after the gene splicing business was phased out.”
    “Harry,” said Stormhead, “you knew about it?”
    “Only that I refused to get involved. My genius is for mechanical and synthetic physiological processes. Genetic engineering quickly gets too unethical for me.”
    Alex said, “Great. The guy who built an army of tiny psychotic robots finds it unethical.”
    “He also built me,” said Magna. “My reformatting proves Harry can atone for his mistake.”
    “If this concerns Griffin Industries, there is a man who can give us all the information,” said Stormhead. “I will tell the crew to prepare the helicopter. Trista, will you join me?”
    “Not without Agent O’Farrell,” she said. “I take orders from him, not you.”
     
     
    Two hours later, Trista, Stormhead, and Alex sat in a helicopter as it flew over the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York.
    “I’m not proud of how I acted during the interrogation,” said Stormhead.
    “We’re all stressed,” said Alex. “I got in a fist-fight with Bart.”
    “I couldn’t stop thinking about the car Quad-Clops blew up. I was close enough to see the father. He saw me. In that instant he went from fear to hope to despair to recrimination. I was a superhero who could not save him or his family. Never before had I felt so useless.”
    “Most heroes would’ve been useless in that situation.”
    “I relived that moment a thousand times. If I hit him with lightening instead of taking cover, if I covered Golden Gryphon so he could’ve gotten closer, or if I took a different position, that family would be alive. Those twin girls would be in high school now.”
    “You saved others by defeating Quad-Clops.”
    “But if we hadn’t fought him, if we let him get away with a bank’s vault full of money, their insurance would’ve covered the loss. No, there was no victory. Sometimes it seems all we do is minimize damage.”
    “The MAB is preparing his old cell for him.” Alex’s phone vibrated. “Hey, it’s the MAB’s main line.” He put it to his ear. “Agent O’Farrell.”
    “Good, I got transferred through. This is Sheriff Johnson at Duchess County. We arrested a metahuman tonight who demanded we call you.”
    “Who?”
    “Candilyn Wizz … I hate these Polish names.”
    “Wyznowski?” Alex immediately pictured her toothy grin and spiky dyed hair. “What’s she in for?”
    “Either murder or attempted murder. The dirtbag she admitted to putting in critical care is a known criminal, but all the same he has rights. We’d appreciate you stopping by. She’s not exactly a model prisoner.”
    “When can I visit?”
    “To shut her up, anytime. We’ll send her upstate to facility better designed for metahumans if no one poses her bail.”
    Alex put the phone down. “Stormhead, can we stop in Poughkeepsie on the way back?”
    “It’s on the way,” he said.
    Alex picked the phone up, said “I’ll be there in a few hours,” and hung up.
    “What happened to Candilyn?” asked Trista.
    “She tried to kill someone.”
    “Oh. Who and why?”
    “I’ll find out.”
    The helicopter landed in a field