Just Cause: Revised & Expanded Edition (30 page)

She lay on the boards of the porch for a few minutes, too exhausted to raise herself up to the door. She felt like she couldn’t draw enough air into her cracked and burning lungs or settle her heartbeat down from its rapid patter. Her lips were chapped raw and she had no spit left to wet them. A network of fine scratches covered her cheeks, forehead, and chin. At last, she raised herself onto her knees, which twinged in protest, and pressed the doorbell. Inside the house, the bell buzzed and rang for almost a minute before Sally had no more energy to hold herself up and collapsed back to the porch floor once more.

The overhead porch light turned on and a moment later the door opened.

“What are you doing? It’s four in the morning! Get off my porch,” said a woman.

Sally raised her head up and saw her mother staring down at her in mute surprise, mouth hanging open in shock.

“M-mom?” she whispered, her voice hoarse with dust and dehydration.

“Sally!” Faith reached down and helped her daughter to her feet. Sally could barely even stand. Her mother half-carried her into the living room and got her onto the couch. “Sweetheart, what happened to you?”

A single tear leaked out of each of Sally’s swollen eyes and made a clean track down her filthy cheeks. “I didn’t know where else to go,” she said, sniffling. “I didn’t know what to do. I ran here.”

“From Denver?”

“N-no,” Sally’s voice quavered. “From G-Guatemala.”

“Guatemala? Central America?”

Sally nodded. “Something bad happened down there. I… I ran away.”

“What were you doing in… No, wait. First things first. Are you hurt?”

“Just my f-feet.” Sally took the CD wrapped in toilet paper from inside her uniform and set it on the coffee table. “That’s… That’s really important,” she whispered.

“It can wait. If your face isn’t hurting now, it will be, sweetheart. You look like you ran through a sandstorm. Let’s get you into the tub. You’re probably very dehydrated. I’ll get you some Gatorade. Are you hungry?” Faith took the scuffed and split boots off Sally and winced in sympathy at the grape-sized blisters and bruises covering her daughter’s feet.

Sally looked at them in horror. “Oh no,” she whispered.

“Never mind that,” said Faith. “They’ll heal right up in no time.” She lifted Sally off the couch.

Faith was not a large woman, but she hefted her daughter like a rag doll and carried her up the stairs. Sally buried her face against her mother’s shoulder and sobbed. Faith set Sally down on top of the toilet and started running water into the tub. “I think we’ll give you a good hosing down first so you don’t have to soak in this grime,” she said. She pulled a pair of scissors from the medicine cabinet and cut away the shredded uniform.

Sally sat numbly for a few minutes as her mother worked. She felt woozy and lightheaded, but she also had a very important mission to complete.

“Mom, I need to call Juice. Can I use your phone?”

“Of course, sweetheart. Let’s get you in here and then I’ll bring everything you need.” Faith adjusted the water temperature. She pulled the shower wand from its clip and handed it to Sally. “Okay, then?”

Sally nodded and let the hot water stream over her shoulders.

Faith smiled at her. “I’ll be back in a flash.” Sally heard the front door bang as her mom ran out into the night. She returned less than a minute later, bearing a quart bottle of Gatorade in one hand and the phone in the other. She pushed the bottle into Sally’s free hand. “Drink that, but go easy. If you’re too dehydrated, it’ll come right back up if you slam it. Sally nodded and sipped at the electrolyte. “Good,” said Faith.

“Mom,” said Sally, her voice a little stronger than before. “I really need to call headquarters.” She turned off the faucet so she could sit in the quiet, steamy water.

“Of course, dear.” Faith handed her the phone and picked up a sponge. “Can I do your back?”

Sally nodded. Fresh tears welled in her eyes as she punched buttons on the phone. “H-hello? This is Salena Thompson… Mustang Sally. I need to speak to Juice right away.”

“
Voiceprint confirmed
,” said the Command Center operator. “
I’m transferring you to his line
.”

Juice answered on the second ring. “Forsythe.”

Sally’s vocal cords froze. How could she possibly tell him what had happened?

“
Who is this?
” Juice asked, more awake and with a dangerous tinge to his voice.

“It’s Sally,” she said.

“
Sally? What’s going on? Are you all right?
” All trace of sleepiness vanished from him and she felt like she was in the glare of a spotlight.

“N-no,” she said, afraid she was about to cry again. “Everything’s gone wrong. Jay… he’s dead.”

“
Dead? Sally, where are you?
”

“Home.” She hiccupped. “In… in Phoenix.”

“
Is your mother there? May I speak to her?
”

Sally pushed the phone at Faith. “He wants to talk to you.”

Faith scrubbed Sally’s back as she tucked the phone between her shoulder and ear. “Juice?”

Sally couldn’t hear what Juice said, only the baritone timbre of his voice.

“I’d say she’s in shock. She apparently ran all the way here from Guatemala. Guatemala!” Faith’s voice rose to the borderline of hysteria. “What the hell did you get my daughter into, James?”

Juice asked another question instead of giving Faith the answer she wanted to hear.

“She’ll be all right.” Faith’s tone was frosty. “But you have some explaining to do.”

Juice started to speak but her mother cut him off.

“No, you listen to me.” Her voice rose in pitch and intensity. “I don’t know what you thought you were doing sending my little girl on some mission out of the country, but she’s just an intern, for God’s sake! You should have known better!”

“Mom,” Sally whispered.

“That’s not the way we did things when I was on the team. We looked after our youngest members like parents!”

“Mom, they needed me.”

Juice spoke for a couple of minutes. Faith listened and then put her head in her hands. “I’m sure you’re right, James. You’re a smart leader, and I know you wouldn’t put her in a position where she’d be in too much danger. I understand.” She sighed and turned to look at Sally. “He really does think the world of you. Can you talk to him?”

Sally nodded and took the phone.

“Juice?”

“
Hi, Sally. Start at the beginning and tell me what happened
.”

Taking a deep breath, she relayed the events that had unfolded since the team entered Guatemala. Juice remained silent while she spoke except to make encouraging noises when she paused. Finally, she finished, and he had only one question.

“
Do you want us to come and get you before the rescue mission?
”

“Why would you want me now? I screwed everything up.” Sally felt as low as she ever had.

“
That’s not you talking, that’s your grief. You did everything exactly right, because you got the information out in spite of being captured. I’m proud of you. God knows you’ve earned the right to sit this one out.
”

Sally looked at her mother, whose facial lines stood out in sharp relief. “Mom? Stacey and Jack… they’re still being held hostage.”

Faith’s mouth was a thin white line. “You want to rescue them.”

“Mom, I have to. They’re my friends, my teammates.”

“I know, sweetheart.” Faith lowered her head. “I would do the same if I were you. Hell, if running to the store just now hadn’t hurt me so bad, I’d come with you. Finish cleaning yourself up.”

“What are you going to do?”

“Well, first I’m going to go and scream long and hard into my pillow. Then I’m going to make you something to eat before you leave. You’re thin as a rail. Aren’t they feeding you up there?” Faith gave her a sad, brave smile, and stepped out of the bathroom.

“
Is there anything you need from your quarters or from Harris?
” Juice asked Sally.

Sally glanced at the tattered remains of her black outfit. “A replacement costume, I guess, with boots. About a gallon of foot cream.”

“
It’s hard losing a teammate. I know. We’ll take the time to mourn the dead once we’ve rescued the still-living. Deal?
”

“Yeah,” said Sally.

“
I’m scrambling the Bettie
.
We’ll come to you… say, about seven-thirty?
”

“You can be here that fast?”

“
Yes
,” said Juice. “
You rest and we’ll see you soon. I’m proud of you, Mustang Sally. Good job
.”

Sally finished her bath and toweled off. She limped to her bedroom on tender feet and pulled on fleecy sweats and the thickest socks she could find. Delicious smells wafted up the stairs.

Sally found a spread of egg, bacon, and cheese burritos with salsa awaited her. Her mother had gone to the effort to make something palatable for once. Her stomach clenched as she realized how long it had been since she last ate. Faith came over to her and put her arm around Sally’s shoulders. “Feel better?”

Sally was surprised to discover that she really did. “Yeah,” she said. “I’ve got about an hour, and then the team is coming to pick me up.” She sat down and started to pick at a burrito.

“They’re picking you up here?” Faith sat down with a plate of her own. “The neighbors will love that. Is there anything I can do to help?”

“No, I don’t think so,” said Sally around a mouthful of egg.

At 7:22, a whistling roar shook the house as the
Bettie
made a vertical landing in the middle of the cul-de-sac. Neighbors ran from their houses in surprise. The engines powered down and the rest of Sally’s teammates exited the aircraft. She rushed out of the house in a blur, treading as lightly as she could on her sore feet, and threw herself into Jason’s arms.

“I’m so glad you’re here,” she whispered into his ear.

He grinned. “I missed you.”

She kissed him then remembered herself. Sheepish, she looked back toward the house where her mother had just disengaged herself from Juice’s embrace.

“And who’s this?” Faith walked over to them and looked up into Jason’s reddening face.

“Oh, uh… Mom, this is Mastiff. Jason. My, uh…”

“I’m pleased to meet you, Ma’am.” Jason turned on his Southern charm as best he could. He took her hand and raised it to his lips.

“Oh, I like this one,” Faith laughed. “And my goodness but you’re tall. What do they feed you where you’re from?”

“All I can eat, Ma’am.”

Sally gave Sondra a tight squeeze. “It’s good to see you. Jack’s okay, as far as I know.”

Sondra smiled back even though her eyes couldn’t hide her concern. “He’s a tough nut to crack, all right.”

“Sally,” said Juice. “We need to leave. If you still want to go, do you want to change in your house or in the plane? Courtesy of Harris,” He held up a bag.

“I’ll, uh…” She glanced sidelong at Jason. “I’ll change inside. I’ll just be a minute.” She grabbed the bag from him and ran into the house to change.

Inside the package she found a fresh, new costume. She slipped into the body suit and quickly braided her drying hair. It took a bit of work to get the boots on over her extra-thick socks, but when she was done she felt like she’d be able to run pretty well. After all, Mustang Sally at seventy-five percent was still faster than anybody else at full speed. She pulled on her gloves and stared resolutely into the mirror as she replayed Jay’s death in her mind once.

Destroyer would pay for it. She’d make sure of that.

She left her room and skipped down the stairs to find her mother waited at the bottom. “You look so beautiful,” said Faith. “I’m so proud of you. You’re every bit the hero.”

“Thanks, Mom, I had the best teacher in the world.” She hugged her mother.

“Which reminds me…” Faith picked up a flat box from the couch end table. “I have something for you. I meant to give them to you when your internship was over, but I think you should have them now.” She handed it to Sally.

Inside sat two gleaming steel horseshoes. “These belonged to your grandmother. She wanted you to have them and passed them along to me.” Faith smiled. “Just a little something to give those six-hundred-mile-per-hour punches a little more oomph. And to protect your fingers, too.”

Sally discovered a pair of Velcro loops at her waist which hadn’t been on her old costume. That sly devil Harris must have already known about the horseshoes. She hung them from the loops and looked back at her mother.

“Now go and save your friends,” said Faith. “And you come back and see me when you’re done. And bring that charming boy with you so I can get to know him better. I’ll make sure he’s good enough for my only daughter.”

“Mom!”

They laughed at each other, and then embraced. “I have to go,” said Sally, and ran out the front door.

Ace already had the
Bettie
’s engines on hot standby. As soon as Sally dropped into her seat, the pilot opened the throttles wide and lifted the jet out of the neighborhood.

“Sally, how are you doing?” Juice asked.

“I’m good. Really,” she said. “I’m ready to do whatever we need to do to get Jack and Stacey out of there.”

“Good. We need to make one stop first. I’ve called in some favors and I’m bringing a little extra muscle for this job.” Juice’s lips parted in a dangerous grin.

“Extra muscle?” asked Sally.

“A few other heroes from around the country. Eric, any change on the imaging?”

Forcestar turned away from the screen he was monitoring. “Negative,” he said. “There’s no sign of any major movements of troops or materials away from the site. Looks to me like they’re digging in. I see lots of firepower—antiaircraft missiles, machine gun emplacements, not to mention whatever parahumans are present. I’ve tagged at least ten fliers in the group. Since we’re only getting stills, it’s hard to say.”

Juice turned to Sally. “We’ve had one of our recon satellites monitoring the site, but it’s only overhead for ten hours a day. We haven’t seen anything to match your description so far, but I have no reason to doubt your report.”