Hero Unit (8 page)

“No sir,” Ace replied.

“What made you report him this time?” the
Captain asked.

“Maniac made a good point,” Ace said.

“What was that?”

“That having another incident like Detroit
would be bad for the E.E.D. and my career,” Ace replied.

That’s an understatement.

He grunted. “I think it would be best if all
of our people were reminded of that, just in case some of Left
Hook’s buddies decide to get a little payback.”

“Whatever you think is best sir,” Ace
replied.

He turned to leave and then paused. “How’d
the military handle it when people there tried to bully you?” he
asked.

Ace really didn’t want to answer that
question, but then again she didn’t want to have to put up with
petty bullies either.

Just tell him.

“My sergeant had each and every squad face
off against me in a drill. I was supposed to act as the ‘enemy’.
Their job was to subdue me via any means possible. They were armed
for actual combat and we were put into a training facility. My job
was to not kill them. It was simple, all they had to do was shoot
me once.”

“How many squads failed?” Captain Angel
asked. If what Emily said about her was true, he was probably able
to see what had happened from Ace’s memories.

“Enough,” Ace replied.

Every last one of them.

“Until they got the point.”

Ace nodded. Not a one of them had been able
to complete the mission. It had stopped the bullying, but it had
isolated her from the rest of the troops. None of them felt
comfortable around her after that. And news of it spread down into
the regular army, and up to the top brass. Her sergeant had meant
well. He had been trying to prove a point and he’d done so, but it
had only caused her more grief.

“I don’t think I will be trying that,” the
Captain said and walked away.

That’s probably for the best.

Ace went back to her paperwork. She found
herself hoping that she would get a chance to go on patrol with one
of the other normal officers. It happened on occasion. Heroes and
patrol cops would team up for a day, especially if things had been
slow for either department. It was unlikely with two Anti cases in
as many days, but she still found herself hoping. She needed to get
out of the office.

“Ace,” she flinched at the sound of the voice
that called her name. It was Einstein. “Have you had a chance to
fire the prototype?” Einstein was a very average fellow, a shade
under six feet and somewhere around a hundred and eighty pounds.
Unlike the stereotypical scientist or researcher he was always well
groomed and he had a fair bit of common sense.

“Not yet. None of the cases we’ve had
recently have necessitated my use of firearms,” Ace replied.

“I thought as much,” he didn’t sit when he
got to her desk. Einstein rarely sat down. He was constantly in
motion. “That’s why I’ve been upgrading the shielding around the
firing range. I’ve been working on incorporating a kinetic
nullifying effect, like your own powers generate. It hasn’t exactly
been easy. I would like your help with some tests if you have the
time.”

You knew that was coming.

Ace looked at her now empty inbox and sighed.
“Sure,” she agreed.

Chapter 9

“Okay so I’ve got the new shields up and activated.
First we’ll try out the assault rifle prototype,” Einstein’s voice
came over the intercom. Ace nodded and lifted the rifle, put her
sights down range and fired off a single shot. The report was
louder than it should have been and the bullet smashed into the
kinetic barrier at a much higher velocity than Ace thought
possible.

“You up the power on these rounds?” she
asked. Standard issue E.E.D rounds did not have that kind of
velocity.

“Sorry. I forgot to mention I’m also having
you test out some new rounds. They aren’t for the police. One of my
military friends asked for them. I thought this would be a good
chance to see what they could do. Do you think the recoil will
prove problematic?” Einstein replied.

Thanks for the warning! I swear he does that
on purpose.

“I can’t really give good feedback on recoil
Einstein, you know that,” Ace replied. Recoil had never been a
factor for her. Her ability to nullify kinetic energy combined with
her strength made a good recoil test impossible.

“Right, right, sorry. Could you give me a
burst next?”

Ace flipped the selector switch and fired off
a burst. Again the bullets slammed into the kinetic shielding with
little effect on it. “Good, now if you could go to full auto. If
you see any fluctuations in the field cease fire, otherwise empty
the clip,” Einstein said over the com.

That was standard procedure, but he had to
say it because all conversations in the range were recorded and if
something were to go wrong the recordings would be consulted to
make sure proper procedure was followed. Ace flipped the selector
one last time and pulled the trigger. It didn’t take long for the
clip to empty. To her surprise neither the shield nor the gun
failed.

That’s pretty impressive.

“I think you might have it with this one,”
Ace said looking the weapon over for any minute stress fractures or
damage. She didn’t see any and gave a thumbs up to the observation
booth.

“Good. Now I want to see if I have the
shielding strong enough to stop that monster of a gun we took from
Technosis,” Einstein said.

This was what Ace was dreading. “Are you sure
this is a good idea?” she asked. She remembered all too well what
had happened the last time the hybrid weapon had been fired.

He can’t be sure, you’re the only person
that would know

“I’ve got all the blast shields in place
behind the shielding. In order to help protect people from that
thing I need to see it in action,” Einstein replied.

Suppressing a sigh Ace picked up the hybrid.
It was meant to be fired from the hip. She braced it and said,
“Fire in the hole!” She pulled the trigger.

Damn, I hate that thing.

The gun went off and Einstein swore. Ace
watched a spider web of energy crackle up the kinetic barrier from
the impact point. She put the hybrid back down on its stand and
made her way down range to see the damage. “The shield stopped it,
but…” Einstein trailed off.

Ace flipped on her device’s camera and
recorded what she saw. The kinetic shield looked like a cracked
windshield, but the round had stopped. It was on the floor. Ace
recorded it all and then picked up the flattened round. She didn’t
know what it was made of, but she imagined Einstein would want it.
She sent the video to Einstein and walked back to the shooter’s end
of the range.

“Ace, if I thought you could truly appreciate
these readings I’d ask you to come up and take a look. I don’t know
who, or what, built that thing but I’m damn glad you are the one
using it,” Einstein said.

Ace wasn’t insulted by Einstein’s assumption
that she wouldn’t appreciate the readings. It was true, she
probably wouldn’t. Understanding weapons was one thing, grasping
all the science behind something like they hybrid was an entirely
different level. All that mattered to her was making sure that they
had a way of defending against such a weapon. “Einstein, you might
want to look into a self-replicating shield. I think one of the
Regs we rescued from Technosis might be able to help,” Ace said
remembering the night they’d found the hybrid weapon.

I didn’t think you’d noticed that.

“That is an excellent idea,” Einstein said.
There was a pause and then he said, “That’s all for today. Both of
these will be under your name for now on. Now that I have a working
alloy for you I’ll also be putting together a sidearm for you.
You’d prefer a nine, right?”

Ace responded affirmatively. The .9 mm was a
family tradition. “I’ll have it ready in a couple of days. This
alloy is a little tricky to work with.”

Never heard him call something tricky. Kind
of makes you wonder.

Ace waved a hand in thanks and then left the
firing range. The tests hadn’t taken nearly as much time as she’d
been hoping, or maybe dreading, but at least a good part of her
shift was done.

Back at her desk she did mindless tasks, just
trying to keep from going crazy from boredom. They were in a
holding pattern, just waiting for another incident. Word had spread
quickly through the Heroes about the HSO. It was like they were all
holding their breath. Everyone was on edge, tense for that call
that would send them out against another group of crazed Antis.

That was what made the waiting worse than
normal; two Antis in a row driven over the edge by the HSO. Then to
make matters more complicated the second had been given followers
to use. Before, when the HSO had just been a rumor some of the
Heroes had sympathized with their ideals on some level.

Even Ace felt that it would be better if
people like Angel and Torment were the ones in charge, but that
illusion had been shattered after finding out what had been done to
Technosis and the other technomancer she’d brought in. If the HSO
was willing to experiment on Exceptionals then they were no better
than every other criminal out there.

“Hey rookie, you willing to go a few rounds?”
Ace looked up to see Bulldog leaning over her desk.

Bulldog was the senior most Fortress Class in
their precinct. He was a good natured guy, never letting the
younger officers get under his skin. He also never let it bother
him that a woman a third of his size was more than his equal. Ace
nodded. She knew that Bulldog was tough enough to spar with her
without undue risk of injury. She would just have to be
careful.

They went to the training room and after a
quick warm up went at it. Bulldog was a dirty fighter, but Ace was
prepared for that. Her years in the military had taught her to be
just as dirty. Even with his tricks Bulldog wouldn’t have been much
of a challenge for her. He wasn’t nearly as strong as Tomahawk, but
he was unrelenting.

Ace wasn’t sure how long they’d been working
out when the Captain showed up and said, “Bulldog, we need you
upstairs. Your team just got a call.”

The huge Exceptional nodded and left. Still
feeling too pent up Ace went to her heavy bag. Again it was a
special piece that Einstein had come up with. She had no idea what
it was made out of, but it absorbed a good portion of her force
when she hit it, so it lasted fairly well, even when she was worked
up; this was only her second one that month.

As she worked she realized the Captain was
still there. “You need me for something Captain?” she asked, not
letting up on her workout.

“We might have some answers, but it’s going
to take time to figure things out. I’m going to need you to escort
Ms. Carpenter as she goes and questions people,” replied.

She didn’t like the sound of that at all.
“She was put in my house so I could keep an eye on her in the
safest place in the city. Wouldn’t it be better to bring the people
here?”

“We can’t afford to. There is a high level of
paranoia in the Exceptionals community. The Regs are all nervous,
tense. Some jackass over at the Times got wind of the HSO angle and
printed a BS story. If we start bringing them in word will spread
and so will the paranoia. We have to go to them. I don’t like it
any more than you do. It puts you and her in a dangerous position,
but we have to get this information,” he said. Ace could see the
frustration on his face.

“When do we start?” she asked.

“On your way home. There are a few that live
close to you. Ms. Carpenter has picked who she will speak with
first,” the Captain said.

Ace nodded and kept at the bag. It baffled
people that she worked out as often and as hard as she did. “You
have powers, why do you need to work out?” they always asked. She
didn’t have a good explanation for it. Her body and mind needed it,
so she did it. It was just another thing that people, Exceptionals
and normals, couldn't understand about her.

After another hour of training Ace showered
and went back to her desk. Emily was waiting for her. “Feel
better?” she asked as Ace sat down.

“Not really, but I don’t think there’s much
that will help right now,” Ace replied as she glanced at her still
empty inbox.

Nothing short of the end of the HSO.

“If you're feeling up to it the Captain and
Torment have given us leave to start early with our questioning,”
Emily said. “There are quite a few names. We’ve divided them up
between the three of us.”

Ace agreed to leave, just to get out of the
tension in the office. She wasn’t sure how some of the others were
able to handle it so calmly. She and Emily went to the parking
garage where Ace’s truck was parked. It gave her a perverse sense
of pleasure to drive a huge vehicle like her truck. It was heavily
modified and given as much security as her house, again thanks to
the Eastern European League.

The first address that Emily read off was
just down the street from Ace’s home. It was a nice house with a
well-manicured lawn. It screamed suburban security and
prosperity.

They went to the door side-by-side. Ace was
in her uniform and Emily was sporting a badge that identified her
as a NDPD consultant. They only waited a few minutes after ringing
the bell before a woman answered the door.

“Yes?” she asked. Her voice was the type that
made you feel warm inside. She had the kind of build that spoke of
years of comfort. In one arm was an infant that she was gently
rocking. The motion seemed completely unconscious on her part.

“Mrs. Holander?” Emily asked.

“Yes, what I can I do for you?” the woman
replied.

“We are from the E.E.D. We were wondering if
we could talk to your husband for a few minutes,” Emily continued.
She was wearing a polite smile and her voice was calm and
reassuring.