Just Cause: Revised & Expanded Edition (21 page)

Sally’s phone beeped once to announce an incoming message. She checked it.

Heading off 2 duty. Thinking of u
.

She smiled and sent a reply text.
Have a good day. C U l8r
.

Faith raised an eyebrow at her. “What’s all that about?”

“Just work stuff,” said Sally.

“I see.” Her mother didn’t seem like she was fooled in the least.

Sally was astonished to see a few people with cameras loitered outside the house when they left. They snapped pictures as the women got into Faith’s Cadillac.

“Who are they?” Sally whispered to Sondra.

The winged woman shrugged. “Fans. Paparazzi. They turn up whenever we’re recognized somewhere, especially in civilian garb. I’m not exactly anonymous with these extra appendages.”

“Jason and I got cornered by a reporter at the Devereaux Foundation the other night,” said Sally. “I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to that.”

“We’ll probably see something about our kinky lesbian tryst in the tabloids next week.” Sondra laughed.

“What?” Faith’s grip on the steering wheel wavered.

“Most of the time, they just make me laugh, although I wish I had Jack’s equanimity when it comes to dealing with the more aggressive paparazzi.” Sondra smiled. “Although I can always fly away and then all they get are pictures of my ass. It’s gotten more press than I have, I think.” She slapped the portion of her anatomy in question. “That’s why I have to keep working out.”

Faith dropped them off in front of the terminal. Sally hugged her mom and thanked her for the hospitality. Somehow, she felt she’d gotten a little closer to her mother in the past day, and decided she ought to nurture that feeling.

“Don’t mention it,” said Faith. “But don’t let another six months go by before you come back. Seeing you twice a year isn’t nearly enough. You too, Sondra, come back anytime.”

“We will, Mom. I love you.” Sally turned to go, but then stopped. “Mom? I… I talked to John Stone and Ms. Echevarria about the day Dad died.”

Faith gasped and one of her hands flew to her mouth.

“I’ll meet you inside, Sally.” Sondra disappeared into the terminal.

“Mom, I’m sorry. I just wanted to know what happened that day. I wanted to know about Destroyer. I wanted to know about you… and Dad.”

“I was going to tell you myself someday,” whispered Faith. “I’ve always meant to. I just never could find the right time. It still hurts every time I think about it.”

“I know, Mom. I’m sorry about Dad. I know you loved him very much.”

Faith’s eyes grew bright with tears. “I still do, Sally. I miss him every day.”

“Are you mad at me for asking someone else?”

“No. I’m glad you found someone to talk to. Someone stronger than me.” Faith sniffled.

“Mom, you’re the strongest person I know. Everything I’m doing with Just Cause is because I’m trying to honor you.”

“Oh, Sally.” Sally found herself in her mother’s arms and didn’t remember ever crossing the distance between them. They embraced one another. “I’m so proud of you, honey. You’ve gone and grown up into a real hero.”

“Only because you taught me to be one.”

They finally broke their hug. Faith smiled at her daughter and wiped the tears from her cheeks. “You go on, Sally. Go be a hero for me. For your father. For yourself.”

“I will, Mom.” Sally wiped her own eyes.

Sally turned and headed for the terminal.

“Sally!” Faith called. Sally looked back. “Come back soon.”

“I will.”

Sally met Sondra inside the terminal. Once they presented their identification to Security, they were allowed to bypass all the checkpoints and were given a ride out to the hangar on a whisper-quiet electric cart.

Sally dozed most of the flight back to Denver. She didn’t even stir when the jet landed. She’d drifted off right after takeoff and the next thing she knew, Sondra was shaking her awake. The jet was already in the Just Cause hangar and the engines powering down.

“Wow.” She yawned. “I didn’t know I was so tired.”

“Same here,” said Sondra. “But your mom’s coffee was pretty weak.”

“Compared to that tar you drink, I suppose so.” Sally collected her bag and followed Sondra out of the jet. She shivered in the cold. “It doesn’t take long to get used to the warm temperatures again, does it?”

“Definitely. Let’s get inside.”

They called Juice to let him know they had returned. He asked if they could meet with him in an hour to go over what they’d learned from Sally’s grandmother. They agreed, and went to their respective rooms to drop off their bags and freshen up after the flight. Sally took a quick shower and dressed in slacks and a button-down shirt, so she’d look a little more professional for a meeting with her boss. She had enough time to stop in the Command Center for a few minutes, so she went in to see Jason. He smiled at her, but was busy as he kept tabs on a developing situation in San Francisco with the New Guard responding to a high-profile bank robbery with possible parahuman involvement.

“Are we on alert or anything for that?” she asked him.

“Probably not,” he said. “The Guard should be able to handle it. We couldn’t get there very quickly anyway. If they get into trouble, we’ll send a squad out. I’m sure they’ll be fine though.”

Sally squeezed his arm and left to go meet with Juice.

Sondra already sat in the office, her wings draped over the back of her chair. Juice smiled as Sally slipped into the room with her grandmother’s box clutched in her hands.

“Welcome back, Sally. How is your mother?”

“She’s fine. She sends her best.”

“And your grandmother?”

“Not so good. She’s going to have to have her hips replaced.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

Sally shrugged. “It’s for the best. She’ll be in less pain afterward.”

Juice leaned back in his chair. “Now… tell me about your investigation.”

Sally cleared her throat, nervous all over again. Stick to the facts, she told herself. Let him ask the questions, let him make the decisions on how to proceed.

“So you’re saying you believe he’s trying to create an army of parahumans?” asked Juice after Sally finished her briefing.

“Yeah, I really think that’s what he’s trying to do. Destroyer has the technological skills to recreate that original experiment with a higher rate of success. And if he’s using the local population, it would explain why the Antimatter Woman came from the same area.”

“And he has a pet psi to keep everyone in line and teleport out the ones who are the worst?”

“He’s got to, or else the Antimatter Woman would still be down there on a rampage through Central America in search of power.”

“Too dangerous to keep around as part of his army, so he teleported her away,” said Juice. “It’s a good theory, Sally. You’ve tied it all together very nicely.”

“But?”

“No buts, Sally. I might consider the idea of an artificially-created parahuman farfetched if we hadn’t had to deal with the Antimatter Woman. It could be a coincidence that she turned up when she did. God knows, coincidence has certainly been the providence of parahuman history. Are you familiar with Occam’s Razor?”

“Aren’t they a band?”

Juice smiled. “Probably. But in this case, it’s a method of solving a problem. Essentially it means that given multiple theories behind a specific outcome, the simpler explanations are generally better than more complex ones.”

“
Generally
isn’t very scientific.” 

“No, but it’s a reasonable assumption. Your theory ties together Destroyer, the Kaiser fellow, Guatemala, and the Antimatter Woman quite reasonably.”

“Thanks, sir. I mean, Juice.”

He smiled. “Now I’m afraid I have to play devil’s advocate here for a moment. I know you have a lot of personal history tied up with Destroyer. I can’t help but wonder if you’re trying to attribute too much to him.”

“I don’t understand,” said Sally.

“Have you considered that perhaps he’s just down in Guatemala to acquire something from this Kaiser fellow, after which he’d simply return to whatever construes his current work?”

“N-no.” Sally suddenly felt only about six inches tall. “What could he only get in Guatemala that he couldn’t get here?”

“You tell me, Sally.”

“I can’t think of anything.”

“James,” said Sondra. “She’s not on the witness stand.”

“My apologies, Sally. No further questions.”

Sally sat back in her chair. Her hands shook as if she had just gone through a Three-Minute Drill in the Bunker. Sondra reached over and squeezed her shoulder in a friendly way.

Juice leaned forward. His chair creaked with the shift of his weight. “Sally, I’m proud of you. This theory is solid, and right or wrong, I’m going to present it to Homeland Security as part of my argument why we should be cleared to go investigate the matter ourselves.”

“Really?”

“Really. Good work, kiddo.”

Chapter Sixteen

“The problem with being the world’s policemen is that the world usually doesn’t want policing. American parahumans have characteristically been unwelcome beyond our own borders. Since parahuman abilities aren’t constrained by political boundaries, other countries are as likely as not to possess parahumans of their own.”

-Dr. Lane Devereaux, appearing on
Larry King Live
, March 4, 1993

February, 2004

Denver, Colorado

“We’re cleared to go to Guatemala,” announced Juice at the first-of-the-month meeting.

“How’d you swing that, boss?” Jack stopped toying with his pen and looked up with interest.

“Sally put together a very convincing argument for further investigation which I relayed to Homeland Security.”

Jack grinned at her. “Good job, Sally. What argument?”

Sally blushed. “I think Destroyer is working with a guy my grandparents fought to artificially create parahuman abilities.” She took a sip from her caramel latte. Between Jason and Jack, she’d experimented with coffee and had discovered a weakness for the frothy sweet beverages. As long as she mixed decaf and regular shots, the jitters didn’t get too bad.

“And the right people at Homeland Security agree with her assessment, which is why they’re sending us in,” Juice said. “There is a catch, though.”

“Always is,” Jack muttered.

“With the complications in Iraq and the terror threat high, Homeland Security isn’t allowing the whole team to travel to Central America. They’re going to let four of us go. The rest stay here on heightened alert status.”

Grumbles resounded around the table. Since the early days of Just Cause, whenever the team split up, missions became more complicated. It was always better to have the entire team present to give the field commander maximal options when making spot decisions.

“Stacey will be in command of the mission, and she’s selected her team. Stace?”

Doublecharge stood. “This will be a reconnaissance mission in a foreign country, not a combat mission. Jack, Jay, and Sally are with me.”

Jack sighed. “Super. I hear the wet season doesn’t start for two more months.”

Sondra touched Sally’s hand. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Sally, because this is in no way a reflection of your capabilities.” She turned to Doublecharge. “I’m going on record as against Sally’s participation in this assignment. She’s an intern, not a full member. This could be a very dangerous mission and she’s been with us only a month.”

“Three reasons.” Doublecharge ticked them off on her fingers. “First, she’s already proved that she’s very capable in the use of her powers. Second, her investigative efforts are directly responsible for us even being allowed to go there at all.” Her eyes narrowed at the rest of the team. “I notice none of you took that extra step. And neither did I, for that matter.”

“Easy, Stacey,” said Juice.

Doublecharge cleared her throat. “Finally, besides Jack and Sondra, she’s the only one on the team who speaks Spanish.”

Sally sank lower in her seat, somehow embarrassed by the attention.

Jason raised a hand. “Stacey, I speak some Spanish.”

Jack snorted. “The menu at Taco Bell doesn’t count.”

“Sorry, Jason,” said Doublecharge. “Sally’s had five years of it. She’s fluent.”

Jason shrugged, miserable. “I’d still come along.”

“Not this time. I’m sorry.” Doublecharge touched a key on her terminal. “I’m sending what little mission briefing I have to each of you. We leave in two days. If you have questions, you can ask me later.”

Jack lifted a hand. “
How do I get—
” A tiny bolt of lightning shot across the table to hit him square in the teeth. It didn’t hurt him, of course, but startled him into silence. Doublecharge lowered the finger that she’d pointed at him.

“I meant any legitimate questions.”

“And on that note, we’ll consider this meeting adjourned,” said Juice, intervening before anything else could happen.

Outside the conference room, Sally slipped her small hand into Jason’s great palm. She took comfort in the way he gently squeezed it. “Walk me to my room?” She asked.

“It’d be my pleasure.”

Neither of them spoke to each other during the short trip back to the dormitory. Sally keyed her door and noticed Jason’s nervously shuffling feet. “Do you, uh, want to come in?” she asked, not daring to look into his eyes. Her mind whirled like an out-of-control carousel.

“Sure.”

The door slid shut silently. Sally made a couple frantic laps of her suite to pick up stray underwear and rolled-up socks. Jason’s hair flapped in the breeze that swirled in her wake.

“Sorry,” she said, embarrassed. “I’m a terrible housekeeper.” She neglected to turn on the suite lights, which left the room, bathed in the low light from her terminal’s screensaver.

“It’s okay,” Jason smiled, and then they stood very close to each other, the contours of his cheekbones highlighted in the dim lighting and his eyes sparkling pools of obsidian. “I’m… going to miss you.” His voice was husky.