Fire Hazard: Cape High Book Eight (Cape High Series 8) (6 page)

"Well yeah, when it's one of the Lib--" she stops, looking at me guiltily.  "I shouldn't have said that, should I?"

"Probably not," I say.

"Jimmi, you're coming to our--"

I cover her mouth with my hand.  "Emily?  Can I have a little talk with you?" I ask in a mild tone.  She reaches up and pulls my hand away.

"Can I get the smoothie first?" she asks.  "I'm next."

"Fine, but no talking, got it?" I say, sighing.  Jimmi is looking at us strangely.  I think she's figured out something.  Man, I've blown this job so big.  They're never going to send kids to Cape High--EVER.  "It's your turn," I point out to her.

"Oh, um, right," she says, ordering quickly.  When she gets her smoothie, though, she just steps to the right, watching us.  I get the feeling she's going to follow us. 
Great.

"I want a green apple smoothie and a strawberry and banana smoothie, and... what do you want, Vin?" Emily asks.

"Two--no, never mind," I say, catching myself.  "Give me--green apple?" I ask Emily.

"It's amazing."

"Gimme one of those, too," I say, not really caring.  We wait for our smoothies and Emily grabs her two before heading for the door as I'm paying.  I chase after her, seeing a familiar looking gang loitering in the parking lot.  "Sup, Speed," I call to the leader before heading for Emily, who's found a picnic table to the side.  Ditto comes out from behind a tree, reaching for the strawberry and banana smoothie.  She's wearing a different outfit than Emily.

"Both of you?" I say.

"I couldn't make up my mind," Emily says shamelessly, taking a long drink off her smoothie.

"She never has to," Ditto says cheerfully.  "So why are we supposed to keep all of this a secret, anyway?  Weren't we supposed to bring her home?"

"She's not a puppy," I say, sitting on the table between the two--they left a gap.  I can only assume that it’s for me.  I look at the gang in the distance, watching as Tank grabs her arm and hauls her over.  "She's dating that big idiot--thinks he's a tank."

Both Emily and Ditto stare at Tank for a long moment, then look at me.  "Is he?" they ask.

"He punched me and broke his fist on my face," I drawl.

"Like that guy did to Ace?" Emily asks, starting to laugh.

Ditto reaches up and turns my face to her, frowning as she examines me from all angles.  "Nope, not even a bruise.  But we don't know if Trent would bruise you, either.  Let's call him and have him try!"

"No," I say simply, "let's not.  Besides, it wouldn't break his fist."

"Oh well," she says, shrugging.  "We're here to talk to you."

"Because Max sent you," I say.  "What does he want you to talk to me about?"

They lean forward, looking at each other in front of me, then drop down on the picnic table bench so they're looking up at me.  "Max thinks you were affected by the zoo more than you're ever going to admit," Emily says slowly, taking a long drink of her smoothie. 

"And we have a little bit of experience with being in a really bad situation," Ditto says.  "Before you guys came we were brought in by Double M.  Actually," she admits, looking over at Jimmi, "we're from this branch.  There's a family in this branch that has two daughters.  They're... really mean."

"They were the ones that took me in when my parents died," Emily says quietly.  "They were nice at first, they helped me out and everything... it was a rough time for me."

"But as time went on... well, the sisters started taking things from Emily," Ditto says.  "They beat on her when she didn't give in.  It was really bad... and she had no proof because we heal really super fast."

"So I left Ditto in the house and ran away," Emily says.  "I was living in the streets when Double M found me, scrounging through the trash for food... it... wasn't good," she says awkwardly, looking in Jimmi's direction again.

"Then they put us in Trent's home," Ditto says, both of them cheering up.  "And we had Jeanie and Ken and now we have Liz, who's amazingly awesome," she adds.  "She's the perfect adopted mom."

"We adopted her," Emily agrees, "because her dad's a jerk and her mom's gone, so she's ours.  Ours and Aubrey's, of course."

"Of course," Ditto agrees.  "So... did that help, any?" she asks me.

"Not for me," I say honestly.  "But... you might have made a good point."  I blink as I realize that Jimmi is looking straight at us, and wonder just how good her hearing is.  "Look, you two," I say, leaning my elbows on my knees and looking from one to the other.  "Max is wrong about me.  I am who I've always been.  Just because he has huge aspirations for being a cape doesn't mean I have to.  Honestly, the greatest thing in this entire universe is not being behind glass walls," I say almost silently.  "I'm just enjoying that fact every day."

"Well, yeah, that's good for the first couple of weeks," Emily says.

"But not for the rest of your life," Ditto says, looking over at Jimmi again.  "There are all sorts of ways to get into an abusive relationship, Vinny," she says quietly, "sometimes so-called 'love' is the most vicious door."

"I..." I say slowly, "I think she should choose for herself."

"But does she know she even has a choice?" Emily asks.  "You're here to--"

"No, I'm not," I say silently.  "It's implied, but it's not certain.  If I don't do my job properly, Century won't even think of it.  They don't like the idea of Nico teaching their kids.  How did we get you?" I ask curiously.

"I'm a ward of the Hall," she says.  "That means Double M can put me wherever he wants if he goes through enough red tape."

I shrug and pull my phone out of my pocket as it rings.  "Sup?" I ask, not paying attention to who's calling.

"Are you cooking tonight or do I need to pick something up?" Flint asks.

"I'll cook," I say, watching as Speed and the rest of the gang get up.  "I'm about to have a run-in with the group, though, so I might be a little late."

"Fine, but don't be too late or I'll pick up fast food."

"Sure," I say, hanging up as Speed reaches us.

"Twins?" he says.  "I'm impressed, Pyro." He grins and drops a hand on Emily's shoulder.  She finishes off her smoothie as she casually pushes his hand away.

"Actually," I say, "they're dating a friend of mine."  Well, sort of a friend.  And is only Emily dating Trent or does he call Ditto his girl, too?  I mean, they're technically the same girl--nah, not going to ask.  That's not any of my business.

"The same guy?" Speed asks Ditto.

She grins evilly.  "He's just that cute," she says, turning and crossing her legs in a lazy manner.  I can see the woman she's going to become right now, I swear it.  "What's your name?" she asks.

"Speed," Speed says.  "In case you're looking for your own boyfriend."

"Nope, I'm good," she says before looking up at me.

"They're just visiting," I say blandly.  "So what's up?  Anything interesting?"

"We were going to go out partying tonight, wanted to know if you wanted to join," Speed says.  I glance at Jimmi, because all of a sudden she's looking away.

"Sure.  But I've got to cook dinner tonight," I say.  "After that?"

"You cook dinner?" Tank repeats, bursting into laughter.  "What a little housewife!"

"You can cook?" Emily asks, her eyes brightening.  "Can you teach me?  Jeanie's tried, but I keep burning everything."

"Sure, but later," I say, ignoring Tank and the lackeys' laughter, "when I get back home."

"So you're from--" Speed stops.  "Where are you from again, Pyro?"

"Missouri."

"What part?" he asks.

"Originally Clinton," I say, "but I've been around a bit."  I look at my watch, and stand.  "So tonight?  Where do we meet?" I ask.

"Right here will work," Speed says.  "You've got a way to get here, right?"

"Yeah, I got a way," I say, glancing over at my bike.  It looks a bit plain without the glowing lights, now that I've seen them.  Oh well.  "See you tonight... 8?" I offer.

"Yeah, that'll work."

"C'mon, Em," I say. 

Emily hesitates, and then goes over to Jimmi with a wide grin.  "Nice to meet you, Jimmi," she says, grabbing her hand in a clasp before chasing after me.  We head for the bike and I get on, wondering what Ditto will do.  Somehow, though, the two manage to get on the bike behind me, and I take off.  Halfway down the road I feel Emily lean back and glance in the mirror.  Ditto is gone.

"What do they do during those parties?" Em asks curiously.  "I got the feeling Jimmi wasn't happy about it."

"I don't know, but I figure I'll find out tonight."  I flip the switch on the bike, glancing down as the flames turn blue.

"Oh, wow, that's awesome!" she says.  "Can you change the color?"

"Yeah."

"Turn it pink!"

"I'm not a girl!"

"Turn it pink anyway!"

I turn it pink, since she insists, and think back on her story.  "Hey, Em... does dating a tank scare you?"

"Do you think Trent would ever hurt me?" she asks.  "Even if I beat on him regularly, he's never so much as slapped me away, you know."

"Yeah."

"A tank is probably more aware of their own power than any other cape I know of," she says.  "Ken's the gentlest guy I've ever met, you know."

"A true tank, that is," I say a bit grimly.

"Yeah, even Jack is gentle, you know?  At least he is with Aubrey."

"Yeah."

"I've been thinking," Flint says as we pull into the driveway.  He stops talking, though, as the girl behind Vinny pulls off her helmet.  "Melody?" he says, looking stunned.

"Emily," Emily says quietly.  "Melody was my mother's cape name."

"Oh--oh--um--" he stutters, "then why are you in Central?"

"How come you just noticed now, anyway?" I ask.  "You handed her the helmet earlier."

"I was distracted by the bike," he admits.

"I'm living with Firefly--she's my new mom," Emily says.  "And I've got a sister named Aubrey, now, too.  It's thanks to Mastermental and Cape High."

"Do you have a dad?" he asks.

"Taurus wants to be," she says wickedly, grinning with pure evilness.  "Me and Ditto use that fact to get good grades--it's great."  I feel sorry for Taurus, I think as I see her.  Especially since there are usually two of her.  "Aubrey's a lot nicer than us," she tells me.  "She thinks they'd make a great couple."

"Taurus?" Flint says, "And Firefly?  Oh man, their kids would be MONSTERS."

"I'd have little brothers or sisters!" Emily says, her eyes going huge at the thought.  "They'd be electric bulls or something!  That would be AWESOME!"

"Emily, are they even dating yet?" I ask her.

"He took her out to dinner once or twice!  And they sat together for Mega’s movie," she says.  "I think we should name one of them Adora--then if she turns out to be a shape-shifter we could call her Adora-bull!"

I give up, shrugging it off and looking at Flint.  He seems a bit stunned and is just watching her decide her imaginary little sister’s future.  "You were thinking something?" I ask, jerking him back to reality.

"Yeah... I'm supposed to be your mentor, right?  That means I need to teach you something for your fight with Cold Steel."

"Oh, right," I say.  "First dinner, then I have to be at the smoothie place at eight for... a party.  So between them?"

"Yeah," he says.

"I want to watch!" Emily says as we start in.

"Can I watch, too?"  I go still at the question, turning to look at Jimmi blankly.  "I sort of... um, followed," she says.  "It's okay, right, Uncle Flint?"

"Well... yeah," Flint says.  "Unless you've got more important things to do," he adds with a hint of sarcasm.  I glance at him and then at Jimmi, who suddenly looks like she wants to run.

"How fireproof are you two?" I ask, instead.

***

Uncle Flint is mad at her, Jimmi admits silently as she hides behind a brick wall in Flint's basement.  Emily is crouching down beside her.  They're there in case things go out of hand.  It'd been fun watching as Vinny cooked like one of those guys on television, but eating with an angry pyrokinetic had made the actual dinner extremely tense.

It's all her fault.  She should have known that her papa would tell Uncle Flint what she did.  How she'd yelled at Papa for being such a pushover, accused him of not being a "man" when he'd done nothing that time.  But that was Papa's fault!  Papa is a super hero--a superior being!  Just letting some norm get up in his face for taking a parking spot--it was ridiculous!  Papa could have CRUSHED that stupid car of his!  Instead he'd pulled out of the spot and let the man have it!

It made her so mad--it still does, Jimmi thinks as she grits her teeth.  She'd told Papa that he needs to be more aggressive, to be stronger, but Papa had patted her on the head and said that "sometimes it is harder to be kind." 

"Hah!" Wait, she'd said that aloud.  Whoops.

"He hasn't done anything yet," Emily says.

"No... it's just... I was thinking," Jimmi says, suddenly feeling everyone in the room looking at her.  She looks away from Vinny, who's simply watching her with calm golden brown eyes.  There's the other thing, she admits.  She HAS a boyfriend.  A boyfriend that's not the type to back down from anyone--that's manly and strong and--and a complete jerk, she admits silently as the guys get back to work.  She'd been so intent on getting a guy different from Papa after that fight that... Well, she might have been a little hasty.

But Vinny had as good as told her to deal with the Tank problem herself--which isn't manly at all, right?  But--

"Okay, light up," Flint says. "Everything you can, that is."

Vinny hesitates before shrugging off his shirt and lighting up both hands and his hair.  She totally forgets thinking about "manliness" and stares.  She doesn't even glance over as Emily discreetly pushes her jaw up from where it's hanging open.

"Really?  Shirtless?" Uncle Flint asks dryly.

"I’ve lost way too many shirts this way," Vinny says, not even looking at the girls.

"Is this all you can light up?"

"I..." Vinny hesitates, looking over at Jimmi and Emily and then back to Flint, "I woke up.  Once."

"How much?" Flint asks.

"Full body.  The bed lit on fire, but the lack of oxygen killed it," he says almost blandly.

"Lack of oxygen?" Jimmi repeats confusedly.  "What--"

"I see," Flint says.  "That makes sense.  Let's start with the basics--can you shoot?"  When Vinny nods, he moves and points to a concrete wall with a target scorched into it.  "Let's see your accuracy."

Vinny holds up one flaming hand and lets loose a fireball.  It doesn't hit.  In fact it falls to the ground several feet in front of the wall.

"Try it again."  That's the sentence that gets repeated for almost an hour, and by the time the hour is over Jimmi and Emily are sitting on the half wall they'd been hiding behind, completely forgetting why they'd been hiding in the first place.  Flint has a dark look on his face as he moves in front of the teen.  "You're a full body fire mimic hero, Vinny."

"I might be," Vinny says.

"You already said it happened once."

"Yeah, but it might have been a fluke--"

"You are.  Your hands are on fire, your hair is on fire, yet your head is completely not in the game.  Emily!  Does he do this back home, too?" he calls over to the redhead.

"Um... yeah," Emily says, looking guilty for some reason.  She hugs her knees to her chest.  "Everyone notices--even Taurus."  Vinny looks at her.  "Why do you think he's always shaking his head?" she asks him.

"I'm just a slow learner," Vinny says a bit too calmly.

"You're just--never mind.  It's been long enough and you've got w--stuff to do tonight, right?" Flint says, glancing at Jimmi for some reason.

"Yeah, a party."

"It's a school night!" Jimmi bursts out.  "He should go to bed!  Are you seriously going to let him go party?"

"Why not?  Your dad lets you," Flint says coldly as Vinny lets his flames go out.

"I sneak out!"

"With a super for a father, do you really think he doesn't notice?" Flint asks.  "Girl, your papa--"  He stops as Vinny places a hand on his arm and looks down at the teen.  "What?"

"Thanks--for the help," he clarifies.

Flint gives him a dirty look.  "Not much help," he says.  "Until you decide to put your heart into this you'll never become the cape you're meant to be.  Understand?"

"Yeah," Vinny says, but Jimmi's almost positive he's lying.  "I gotta go take a shower," he says, grabbing his shirt and slipping it on before walking past them.  "Em, is Firefly coming to pick you up?"

"Yeah."

"Might as well have her come now, I don't need backup for this," he says.

"Yeah," Emily says.  Jimmi wants to protest, but he's walking away before she can.  Instead she looks at Emily.

"Why would the oxygen run out?" she asks, dying of curiosity.

"He didn't tell you?" Emily asks.  "Vinny's one of the zoo kids."  Then she pulls out her cellphone to make a call, leaving Jimmi even more confused than before.  She hesitates for a moment before leaving.  She needs to find somewhere private and look it up online.

Something tells her she's not going to like what she finds out.

***

Seven thirty.  I look up from the homework I'm fighting with.  "Time to go," I say as I stand.

"You're taking this school cover pretty seriously," Flint says, looking at the books.

"I can't stand out," I say.  "We shouldn't have shown her that," I add quietly.  "She's going to start figuring things out."

"Don't you want her to?" Flint asks.  "I figured the reason your school was willing to send you is to get Voltdrain's daughter--and everyone else's."

"Nico wants her," I admit, grabbing my keys, "but Century doesn't trust us.  If she figures it out and Century says no, she probably won't be coming.  Sometimes false hope is cruel, Flint--if she even wants to come, that is."

"So you don't hope for anything, do you," he says, watching me closely.

"I hope to live through this and get back home," I say.  "Regardless of what happens, do you really think the group that sends their favorites halfway across the country are going to let me stay?" I add, a little twitch pulling at my lips.

"You only hope for things you know are going to happen, you mean.  That's not what hope is, Vin."

"It's the type of hope that works for me," I say flatly before heading out the door.

***

There would be no surprise if people found out that Ken has access to most of the prisons in states all over the country.  Of course the fact that he's “affiliated with” America's Son might help--but those wardens that he's grown to know over the years know him as “the preacher.” It's why he's gotten all the paperwork and information necessary to meet Vinny's father so quickly.

"Ken," Warden Blue says, offering a hand.  Ken shakes it, smiling at the shorter man.  "Good to see you, son.  I'm a bit surprised that you came for just one of our boys today."

"I'll get in touch for a sermon, later," Ken says.  "This one is related to a teen I'm helping through a rough time."

He's wearing a dress shirt, tie, and a pair of slacks along with dress shoes.  He reaches up and tugs at the tie, making a slight face.  Even if it is part of his "other uniform," he still isn't fond of it.  He ignores that fact and follows Blue down the hall to a simple room with a table and two chairs on either side.  A pair of guards stand to the side, nodding slightly as Ken greets them. He sits down in one of the small chairs, waiting patiently as they bring in Antonio Accardi.  He's a good looking man, Ken thinks.  Vinny looks a lot like him.  Ken stands, holding out a hand to shake with the chained man and then motions for him to sit down before doing the same.

"I was a bit surprised," Antonio says, "I've got a preacher that already comes and talks to me.  I didn't expect a new one to want to."

"I'm actually here for a different reason," Ken says.  "Your son is a ward of the Hall.  I work with them.  I've been spending some time with Vinny."

There's a hint of worry on Antonio's face.  "Is there something wrong with my son?" he asks.

“Antonio--”

“Tony, please,” Tony says.

“Tony--your son’s mother, who was she?” Ken asks quietly, leaning forward.  He sees Tony hesitate and wonders if he’s going to lie.  It’s what Nico said Vinny expected.

“Her name was Pamela.  Pamela Stokes.”

***

I pull to a stop next to the smoothie shop, flipping the glowing red lights off before turning my bike off.  I see Speed, first.  He’s sitting at the same picnic table that I’d been sitting at earlier.  He’s talking with a group of guys dressed a lot like me--mostly all black clothes.  This group has glow-sticks hanging from their necks.  In the late daylight they take on an eerie glow.

I kick the kickstand down and get off, heading for the group.  I’m curious about the glow-sticks, honestly.  They seem almost... familiar.  They glow orange, a lot like Jimena’s eyes, I think.

“So you actually came,” Speed says.  He looks confident, and slightly demonic in the dim light.  His grin stretches across his face.  “Welcome to the gang, Pyro.  Give him a stick,” he orders the guy next to him.

“He doesn’t need one,” Tank snaps.

“Give him one, anyway,” Speed says.  I blink as an empty tube is handed to me, one that dangles on a thin black cord.  “You’ve got to try this, man, it’s like nothing you’ve ever done.”

I look at the tube for a little while longer before slipping the cord over my neck.  I look around, seeing Jimena sitting underneath a tree several feet away.  She doesn’t look happy.  She’s staring at the screen of her cellphone--I blink as I see her wipe a tear away, wondering what she’s reading.  It’s probably some stupid romance book.  “Hey!” Speed yells at her.  “Get over here, Jimmi!  Charge up the new guy!”

“She doesn’t have to--” I say, a bit surprised as I hear Tank say the same thing.  He glares at me with unrestrained hatred.

“She’s MY girlfriend.  She doesn’t have to do what you tell her to,” he snarls at Speed.

“You know what, Tank?  You’re really starting to get on my nerves,” Speed says casually, reaching up and wrapping his hand around his glow-stick.