Blackjack Villain (66 page)

“Okay I have a question,” she began, inching closer and holding my hands. “And Dale, I need you to be honest with me.”

Apogee paused, staring into my eyes and squeezed my hands in hers.

“Are you ok?”

“Is that the question?” I laughed.

“No,” she admitted. “You look really tired. And you have these lines on your face.” She reached out and caressed my face softly. I must confess; her touch was mesmerizing. “Take a shower and get some sleep,” Apogee said suddenly coming to her feet and pulling at my arms to get my bulk out of the chair.

“Yeah,” I muttered and took off my shirt and threw it into the garbage. It was covered in blood and dirt, ripped in a dozen places.

“They’re ready for us now, but maybe I have time for a shower,” I said, leaning back against a desk to unbuckle my boots, but my fingers kept slipping. She saw my struggles and came over, helping me remove the one boot. She did it silently, her deft fingers popping the three heavy steel buckles on each side of the boot that broke the seal and released the boot from my feet like a clam shell releasing its hold. The first boot thumped heavily to the floor.

“Jesus, what’s in there, concrete?”

“I made them myself. I call them my Ass Kickers,” I said drawing a smile from her gorgeous face. As she reached for the other boot, I wondered, “So what was the real question?”

Apogee was kneeling before me now, unbuckling the boot on my other foot which was planted on the floor. She looked up at me when she finished the second boot and eased back so I could lift my foot free.

“I was wondering about the machine,” she said as she stood and stepped back. “You know about this stuff, right?”

I shrugged and undid my pants, letting the grimy things fall to the floor.

“Yeah,” I said, ripping off one, then the other sock. “I guess.” I dropped my underwear and tossed it in the garbage. I went into the bathroom and hopped in the shower, putting the water at max temperature. It heated fast.

The scalding water made me hope for a sort of epiphany, or some cathartic experience while showering, but instead it highlighted every scrape, bruise and cut more painfully, as if reminding me of what I had gone through.

I guess that in itself was the catharsis, knowing I had survived, but something gnawed at the back of my mind, warning me that today might be all of that put together and then some.

As I showered, Apogee came to the bathroom and leaned against sink.

“I need to know, Dale,” she continued. “Do you think the machine will work? I mean that it will work like Walsh and Retcon think it will?”

I regarded her for a few seconds, wondering if the old man was onto something, or if we were going to destroy the world in the process. I thought of the Tesla book, of the theories he had exposed in his lifetime, of it all…

“The theory is sound,” I said finally.

“The shield thing will work?”

I nodded. “I think so. Now I can’t say what the alien’s reaction will be, or if they have some sort of mystical power that will overcome it. But in theory, the Telluric energy will blanket the planet in a shield so powerful nothing will be able to overcome it.”

“And you think it will work?”

“What do I think?” I said, and paused because I saw that despite her worry about the shield and Retcon’s plans, she was eyeing me. I hadn’t closed the shower curtain, so my nude body was in full view. “You trust me now?”

And to my surprise, she did. “It’s just you and me here, Dale.”

“It should,” I told her. “And if it doesn’t, or if something goes wrong, I’ll be there to stop it.”

Then she smiled, content, and grabbed my toothbrush, loaded it with paste and brushed her teeth, while still looking in my direction.

And I couldn’t help myself.

“You’re staring,” I said, and she broke into that delicious laughter.

Chapter 25

She jumped in the shower after me and once I dressed for the part I was to play, I took the elevator to the lobby and found it full of the world’s foremost villains.

Baron Blitzkrieg was there, with his Dogs of War including a very old Psionicler, Mr. Servo and the mind bender, Apotheosis. Most of the super villain group Beta Blast was there as well, with UVee, Nexus, Shockblast, Project Alpha and the dread robot V4NGU4RD as well.

Amidst them were Dr. Retcon, his daughter and their attending army of robot servants, and Nostromo. Retcon wore his traditional costume, an impeccable three-button blue with dark grey pinstripe suit with a light purple tie and pocket square, and a cane (reputed to be full of tricks) topped by a polished amber crystal. Nostromo was also in costume, and surrounded by the strange uniformed and armored younger villains, he seemed to stand above them all, more magnificent and resplendent than all. He was aloof to everyone gathered around him, but when he saw me coming out of the elevator, and walk down the landing to the lobby below, gave me a slight nod.

Also beside Retcon was a woman I could only guess was Lady Jayne, the last of the Original Seven. Like Nostromo and Retcon, she hadn’t aged in the fifty-plus years since the incident that made her super. A woman in her late thirties, she carried herself with a grace and grandeur unheard of in these days. Her real name was lost to history, as was her past, and the only thing I knew of her was that she was part of the project that transported them to Shard World. She dressed formally, the only person besides me eschewing costume, and her style harkened back to the high fashion of 40s movie stars like Ava Gardner and Lauren Bacall. Lady Jayne was a throwback, more so in the presence of such a young crowd.

Closer to me were the guys, Haha and Cool rushed to greet me when I stepped out of the lift. Haha’s kimono was finally clean, though I was certain his katana would still be rusted and dilapidated. His rabbit head was feckless, no longer smudged and covered in dirt, but the material was faded and worn, showing the miles we had travelled together.

Cool’s smile was weary, and his hug not as strong as before. He wore crow’s feet on the edges of his eyes, and had that thousand-yard stare of someone who had seen too much, too fast. It was like the pictures I’d seen of the WWI flying ace, Manfred von Richthofen, the famed Red Baron. There was a difference between the images of the Baron early in the war, and those taken later, prior to his death. He had lost weight, his skin tighter against his face, and his youthful demeanor was gone, replaced by the knowledge of the death and carnage of war.

“You alright, man?”

“I’m good,” he lied. “After this, I’m hitting the Jersey shore for like a week. You should come, man.”

Zundergrub was mid-conversation with Baron Blitzkrieg, a Nazi sympathizer who wore highly stylized armor reminiscent of a Nazi SS uniform with gold embroidered epaulets, and more medals and citations than could be won in a dozen wars. Blitzkrieg had replaced Retcon as the world’s most dangerous villain during the doctor’s stay in jail. How he had evaded capture for over a decade, no one knew, but he was always in the news, always a menace.

Despite all the gathered villains in this room, all their stories and great history, the one I was most concerned with was Zundergrub. He and I had unfinished business.

“Ah, there he is,” Retcon said in a tone filled with pomp and circumstance. “I was afraid the lass was going to you from us this morning. I hope she left you some energy for today, huh?”

I smiled bashfully, still in Cool Hand’s embrace.

“I’ve introduced everyone here,” Dr. Retcon continued. “But the last fellow I want everyone to meet is probably the most important piece of the puzzle. This, my friends, is the great Blackjack. Out of costume, of course.”

Nostromo, of all people, started clapping, and before too long, the whole assembly joined in. It was a strange feeling, to be applauded for my villain work, for stealing property and killing a hero. Of all those there, only Cool Hand noticed my displeasure.

He patted my arm, “Don’t worry about it.”

“We’re still waiting for one more,” Retcon went on. “We have a famous super heroine with us, and I expect you all on your best behavior. She will be the only voice of reason, when all is said and done.

“Well, I promised I’d be brief,” he started, casting a wink at his daughter. As he spoke, his daughter’s service droids went around the room, distributing champagne glasses to all of us from silver trays they carried like waiters. Other robots followed, pouring 1996 Clos d’Ambonnay champagne into our glasses. To the best of my knowledge, each bottle cost a small fortune.

“I first want to thank you all, my friends, and former rivals, for coming here at my request. You’ve all given me a second chance to correct all the errors of my past, and I will be forever in your debt.”

He paused a moment, looking at the gathered faces.

“In one way or another, we’re all tied together. We’ve all walked the same path and its lead us to this point. It all started with an experiment gone wrong in a small college lab, and now we’re at the end game, trying to fix the damage done once and for all.

“Today is going to be a red letter day. A day that humanity will long remember. I don’t know what will happen, or if we will be victorious, but I think we’ll show the world something to remember…”

He trailed off, lost in thought.

“It’s the future were here to protect,” Retcon began again, after pausing so long an uncomfortable silence to spread. His eyes shot across the room and he flashed a bashful smile before raising his glass in a toast. “Ok, enough of this crap. To the future,” he said, with more grandeur than he felt, or that the moment called for.

“To the future!” we all called back, as the elevator dinged and slid open, revealing Apogee to the host of super villains.

I wondered how many she had faced, how many she had incarcerated, but it seemed like all when she entered the room for a deathly pall came over the place, and every eye was upon her.

And what a sight. It was amazing what a couple of hours of sleep and a hot shower could do. She was aware of everyone in the room watching her, the seething demeanor of the room. Apogee strutted down the stairs and stopped at the base, standing with her legs spread out and fists at her hips, almost taunting the entire room, waiting for anyone to threaten her.

But instead of a fight, she got quite the opposite. Dr. Retcon crossed the room, sipping his champagne, and took her arm in his.

“This, my friends, is Apogee,” he said, leading her to us. “Though, I’m sure most of us here know who she is. For today, at least for today, she is our friend.”

He scanned the room, taking a moment’s pause to make sure it settled in.

“Alright, let’s go make history,” he said, leading Apogee, and the rest of us, through the lobby doors.

* * *

We had expected something grand and instead we were met by what reminded me of Berlin after the war.

“Hashima Island!” Retcon waved about in magnanimous form, but none of us were much impressed.

The Retcon building lay in an open courtyard, surrounded by other similar buildings, though far more dilapidated and some partially collapsed. One had fully fallen upon itself and its neighbor, spilling wood, concrete and stone all over.

“This was once a gas mining facility,” Retcon said. “It was abandoned in the seventies, when the gas ran out and now it is our battlefield.”

A few groans resounded in response, and Blitzkrieg himself stepped forward.

“What is the meaning of this, Retcon?”

Retcon was pained at being questioned, but to his credit, responded with a measured smile.

“It will all become clear to you soon enough,” the doctor said, but saw his explanation wouldn’t suffice. “You must forgive me; I’m used to being so nebulous when it comes to my plans. Give them just enough to tantalize.” He giggled to himself.

“My sanctum is more than a base,” he began, pointing at his building. “In the core, is a large chamber housing a Telluric device which is the whole point of today’s exercise. To those of you who don’t know what the Telluric device does, suffice it to say, it’s a powerful shield. More powerful than even Nikola Tesla, the man who created the technology to begin with, could have imagined. I have taken his theories, and brought them to life.

“Over the past few years, I have gone to great lengths to show you all the danger of the alien now watching us from the moon of Jupiter, Callisto. This alien is a member of a predatory species, intent on destroying our planet and eradicating almost all life on Earth. What we will do today is a display of power, utilizing the telluric device. Once the alien sees that we are capable of encompassing the planet with a shield so powerful that even they are powerless against it, they will move on, and leave us undisturbed.”

“The reason I’ve chosen Hashima Island for the final battle is two-fold. Firstly, I designed my sanctum to appear similar to the broken structures here, and they will camouflage the chamber, until the very last moments, of course.”

Indeed, looking back at Retcon’s building showed it now to be as gray and despoiled as the rest of the structures around it. Only close cursory examination would reveal the very top of the dome jutting out of the top, the massive door entrances at each corner, leading into the device chamber.