This story is by Miguel A. Zamora and was part of our 2018 Summer Writing Contest. You can find all the writing contest stories here.
My cell is hot. Sweat rolls down back as I sit waiting to go the integration room. A guard informed me a Suit and Dame want to have a chat. It’s funny a world filled with Sups and the government always wants their piece of the pie. They will make an example of anyone, and I mean everyone. I can hear footsteps coming to my cell, so I stand and assume the position.
The Hall is cold. It’s dark. Inmates are asleep. What’s funny is that I put most of those guys away and now I’m in here with them, serving Twenty-five to life.
I hate the smell in the interrogation room, the air smells like butts and cheap Joe. They place me on a round platform and a yellow force field engulfs me. The good thing about that is it filters out the smell in the room.
The Suit is your typical G-man, from the haircut to the cheap black suit and tie. You can tell he’s trying to quit smoking because of the toothpick he’s chewing on. His face shows the year of hard living and short nights. But what about that set of legs behind him. This one had all the curves in the right places, but she looked like a viper to me.
The Suit flicks his toothpick in my direction. “I’m Agent Michaels,” he says.
“What do you all want?”
He covers his mouth as he clears his throat. “Well, Spartan…”
“Spartan is dead… he died the minute he walked into this place.”
Michaels grins sarcastically, “Really.”
“Again, what do you want Suit. And who’s the dame?”
I guess Michaels still didn’t know how to read me so, he took a seat and said, “Do you know what day it is?”
I shake my head. For all, I knew it was Christmas.
“There was to be an execution today, but it didn’t happen,” he says.
He got my attention with that. “Hellion?”
“Bingo,” he says.
“And?” I hate it when a self-important dickhead like this guy doesn’t get to the point. “You’re wasting my time what do you want?”
“Are you in a hurry… got somewhere to be?” Dame says with a shy grin on her face.
“Sure, the Wheel is on in ten and I would hate to miss it.”
“We need you to help us find him,” he says.
I start to laugh. These cats didn’t know who they were up against. “Guards we’re done here.”
“I’ll tell you what, we been authorized to cut you a deal. You help us get Hellion and it’s time served, and you’re free,” Michaels says.
“So, you’re getting me out to help you to catch Hellion?”
“No, we want information and I’ll bring him in… or I’ll take him out,” She says.
“And who you?”
“You can call me Longshadow” She answers.
Now I recognized her and for a dame of her caliber, she was deadly. “Longshadow… Head of Section 8.”
I could tell she did recognize me so, this could be interesting. “You?”
“That’s right,” she says.
“Wasn’t Haze one of yours?”
She nods.
“With all due respect, love, your team can’t bring him in.” From the strained look on her pretty face, she wanted to let me have it and she knew that I knew. “You go after Hellion with that team and you’ll are going to die unless you have my help.”
Michael stands. “Sorry, no.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“Yes, we are,” he says.
“Okay, G-man I’ll play ball. Hellion may be at the Tavern or he’s at the warehouse’s district over the bluff.” I smile as he writes it down because he had no idea what Hellion was going to do to them. “So, are we done?”
“Yes,” Michaels says.
“Well, I’ll see you in a few days when you’ll come to make me other deal… after your team fails.”
The force field goes off and the smell hits like a gut punch. The guards take me out of the room and back to my cell.
It has been four days since the Suit came and talked to me. I thought maybe they were able to take Hellion down. That’s ‘til the cell door opens and Michaels walks in. I give him a sideways look and smile.
“So, it went that well, uh?”
“How, did you know that they couldn’t take Hellion down?” he asked.
“It’s a curse, my man.” I stand and grab my shirt and slide it on.
“How many dead?”
“Eight only Longshadow and Rook made it… but we got Haze in the crossfire,” he said.
“Told you it would go that way… now what.”
He hands me a file and I look it over. My expression changed in an instant as I read the file. The government I promised to protect had betrayed me. I knew it deep down but to see it in black and white cut deep.
“You knew this, and you still sent me to this hell hole!”
“An example needed to be made so, the government could regulate and control the sups,” he says. He continued “Sorry, that it went down that way but, you were the man everyone wanted to be. Hellion framed you for all ten dead.”
“When I do this, I want the name Spartan to be exonerated on all counts.”
“Done,” he says
“I need to get my gear… give me two days. If the dame wants to tag along it’s up to her.”
“As you wish Spartan,” he says as he walks out of the cell.
“Are you hard of hearing or just a goof… Spartan is dead. Call me El Coyote.”
The fresh air felt good on the skin. The smell of rain was refreshing. The dame and I were overlooking the warehouse from an adjacent building. I pulled back the hood and look at Longshadow through my Coyote shape headgear. Longshadow is in a black form-fitting tactical gear and a black hooded duster. A simple red mask covers her eyes.
“I like the new look”, she says.
“It’s an old look. I wasn’t always Spartan. I was El Coyote first. My mentor asked me to take on the mantle of Spartan before he died.”
The warehouse Security team was on high alert.
“Four Tech-heads around the outside perimeter there yours.” Tech heads didn’t have powers but, instead relied on tech to give them an edge. “The Merc Salvo on the inner chamber.”
Longshadow winks and jumps off the ledge.
“I need to taste that.” I laugh as she flies down on the men.
I jump across to the roof, drop in from a skylight and I’m met by Salvo.
“Do we have to?”
Normally, I would play it out. Have a good old fashion slobber knocker but I was in no mood and he’s in the way. Salvo smiles and starts to throw explosive fireballs from his hands at me. I absorbed the blast. My arms bust into blue flames and I release the energy back at Salvo. As the dust clears all that is left is ash and his boots.
“That’s what I loved about you,” Hellion says.
I turn and look at a privacy screen as Hellion walks out in a black silk see-thru nightgown. Open in the front and her long red hair over one shoulder. I loved her, but she used me and left me for dead.
“Now that’s the man I fell for; El Coyote not that shell of the man you were as Spartan,” she says.
“Dead or Alive this ends love.”
She drops the gown to the floor and winks. “Are you sure?”
She puts her hand to her lips and blows me a kiss, I had seen this play out before. Her scent made guys goofy, so they would bend to her will. I shake my head and stagger back.
“On your knees and take that mask off’” she ordered. I did as she said.
She walks to me and takes my face in her hands and kisses me. I catch her by surprise and slap a pair of the cuffs on the bracelets. They neutralize a sups powers.
“That was easy… I loved you but, you betrayed me, and I had six years to come up with a block for your powers. You have a date with the gallows.”
She was quick and threw a roundhouse kick. I blocked, and then I punched her in the gut. She went down to her knees. I threw her gown over her, she was yelling something at me, but I could care less. I walk toward the door as Longshadow rushed in.
“She all yours, don’t try to find me.” I grab her by her waist, upsetting her balance long enough to deliver a well-received kiss.
“We should team up again,” she says reeling slightly.
I wink and leave the room. She won’t forget that last kiss. What can I say Dames love me.
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