Age of Power 1: Legacy (21 page)

Then I saw something that looked familiar. “Hey! Alan, what’s that
around your neck?”

Before he could react, I reached out and grabbed the item. He
said, “Hey! That was a gift! Give it back!”

I saw that it was the same kind of microphone that Angela had
tried hiding at the hospital. I looked at it, then looked at them and said,
“Really, you’re both wired? What is this about?”

Angela swallowed as her eyes widened. Shaking her head, she
said, “God, no! It’s not even a listening device! The design just happens to
look like a microphone. Give it back to Alan, Vaughn! It’s more important than
you think. Especially around here!”

I had no idea of what she was talking about, but the fear in her
voice was real. Still, I looked at it again, trying to figure it out.

I said, “Okay, what is it? And why is it so important?”

They looked at each other for a moment. I wasn’t sure what was
going on, but I didn’t need this crap. Glancing past Alan, I saw that the snow
was now falling heavily. The search for survivors was now going to be that much
harder. I needed to get back outside to help. So I tossed it back to Alan. He
relaxed once it was in his hand—weird.

I sighed. “Look, whatever is going on, just
go
.
Grownups are working here, and this is kid stuff! Take your bug…whatever it
is…and just go!”

Alan put it back on as he said, “All right, all right, it’s a
phad transceiver. You’ve never seen one before, I take it?”

“A phad?
 No!
They’re too expensive.” I said as I looked at the thing. White with a silver
grill on top, it did have the look of a listening device. But once he said what
it was, I recognized it from Brand’s boasts about his phad.

I said, “Fine, but why keep it with you? It’s designed for the
phad, so put it in one.”

Angela said, “Look, there’s an explanation for all this. But
seriously, can we talk alone? I mean,
really alone
,
not with all these people around us. We really need to talk to you about Alex
Shaw. He did something that went way past what you think he did.”

I stared at her, wondering what she was trying to say. I
gestured towards the front of the library and said, “Look, this town is under
attack by insane people! Do you really want to know what happened? Here it is!
Alex is making people blow up my town! That’s what it is. Do you want to know
how I feel about the guy, right now? 
Fine.
He’s a
bastard. Now go away, and let the adults handle the real mess that he left
behind. The bombing is his fault!”

Angela said, “No, it wasn’t a bombing, it was a—”

Angela stopped talking when Alan stepped in between us. I
thought he was trying to protect his sister, but he surprised me when he said,
“Don’t talk about Shaw that way. He saved the world. Whatever else happened, he
saved all of us.”

Oh gods, they were fans of the Avatar. Did I just get more
fanatics to deal with?
No, not now!

“Look—go. Just go. Nobody needs you two. Whatever fantasy you
two believe about Alex
is done
! This is hell on Earth,
not some game! Just go!” I said to the two of them.

Before either of them could say anything more, there was yelling
from the entryway. I looked to see Kular and a cop dragging in a firefighter.
Kular yelled, “Vaughn! Help me with this fool!”

Forgetting the two behind me, I went to help her put the
unconscious man on the table. “What’s wrong? What happened to him?”

“He’s the Lakes City Fire Chief. I told him earlier not to do
anything strenuous! Now, he’s suffering from an acute myocardial infarction,
damn it! And we don’t have a defibrillator!” Kular snapped as she ripped open
his coat and shirt to get to his chest. I pulled back as more people came over
to help. Kular went to work at trying to save him.

I felt a light touch on an arm. Angela whispered, “We’re not the
enemy, Vaughn. Kular is. Whatever you do, be careful around Kular. She knows
about you—what you can do—so be very careful.”

Then there was a bright flash of light; I blinked and whipped
around to yell at them. I said, “What the hell are you—?”

The back of the library was empty. They were gone. And unless
they’d broken out a window, it wasn’t possible. But they were gone, just the
same.

There was a resounding 
thwack
, and I turned to see
Kular trying to get the man’s heart started. I could only watch as the body
stayed unresponsive. Kular screamed for him to wake up. 
Dammit, no, not
another death, please…not another—

With a sudden gasp, the fireman jerked, his eyes flying open
with pain. I whooped with joy as Kular calmed him down and called for an EMT to
bring a gurney. Laughter flew around the room. And, just for a moment, I
celebrated over the fact that we had held back the reaper at least once. My
eyes met Kular’s, and I saw a mix of relief and pride in saving a man’s life.
She laughed at my thumbs-up.

It was all great until I remembered Angela’s last words. 
We’re
not the enemy, Vaughn. Kular is…

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Sundogs heralded the coming of dawn. Colors flared from a thick
coating of ice on the buildings and cars, caused by the water spray of fire
hoses. Looking out the window, I could see people walking and pointing to the
south, where Main Street lay. Where that particular hell was concerned, I
didn’t want to see it ever again. I had had enough of burned and smoking cars
to last a lifetime.

Somewhere in the late of the night, I ended up sitting in a plush
chair looking out the window. I’m not sure how long I’d been in it. I remember
that events had wound down after the high adrenaline rush of the night. The
fires were out, and the firemen declared the buildings clear of victims. The
only issue that came up was when the cops had to clear people from the
apartments near Main Street. While it had been a late decision, they’d all
left, and most were in motels for now. It had taken Chief Sinclair’s direct
orders to get the holdouts to leave.

The talk was that the damage was in the millions, possibly in
the billions. Yet, the cost in property damage was nothing compared to the
lives lost and those who had been hurt. Two hundred and seventy-eight people
had been injured and burned. Thirty-six were dead from the fire and smoke, or
being caught in the blasts. And all we could do was mourn. I had known some of
those people. Teachers from the high school, business owners, and people I’d
run into from time to time over the years while living in Riverlite. On top of losing
Brand, this was just too much.

And worse, I
was caught up
in some
strange conspiracy going on behind my back. I thought of what Angela had told
me. That Kular knew what I could do. But how did 
Angela
 know
what I could do? And what was with those disks? Why were they important? And
why would Angela say Kular was a problem?

No, I couldn’t see Kular being some sort of villain. Hell,
everyone in the room had seen her do everything she could to save that
firefighter. She’d cried with frustration over his near death. I hoped that he
wouldn’t have another attack and die. She’d be devastated. And I was getting
sick of death. Too much of it had been happening since Yama had come around,
and a part of me really had felt hatred toward Alex last night. It wasn’t his
fault, but people were dying now, possibly because of his direct actions.

This was just wrong. On my birthday, I thought things might be
getting back to normal. But now, Brand was dead, dozens had been killed, and
worse, Chief Sinclair was unsure of how the explosions had been caused. So he
couldn’t say that it wouldn’t happen again.

And I had superpowers. So I wasn’t sure what was more worrisome,
that we had a mystery bomber on our
hands,
or that I
could do something I had only seen in comic books and movies. And the person
walking up to stand behind me somehow knew about my powers as well, and I
wasn't to certain how to deal with her on the subject. Not right then.

“Vaughn? Are you doing all right?” Dana said. I smiled. The
memory of her stunned look—right after I destroyed the wall—would be funny
someday. Right now, however, the smile slipped away.

Looking back at her, I said, “Hey.”

Dana stood behind the chair, looking down at me with worry in
her eyes. Behind her, the inside of the library was now a massive mess of
tossed papers and medical garbage strewn across all the tables. Books were on
the floor, some dirty and bloodied, and someone had shoved the DVD racks out of
place, leaving the cases scattered. Dana herself looked like—well, she looked
beautiful, no matter what. I found myself smiling again.

I began to say something, but yawned in her face. Gods, I am
such a witty man, aren’t I? Ugh.

“Oh my, what big teeth you have,” she said with a trace of
an impish grin. I felt my face heat up.

I started to apologize. Then I did a double take when I realized
we were the only ones in the library. When I’d sat down, there had been a
number of people talking about the plans for recovery and investigations. It
was dark then. Now light was coming in the windows, and I couldn’t remember the
time passing.

I said, “Wow, when did I fall asleep?”

She nodded with a slight chuckle and said, “Since around three
this morning. Dad was going to wake you an hour ago, and have you taken home. But
I offered to do it instead. It’s almost six-thirty now, so come on, I think
we’ve seen enough of this place.”

Suddenly a bed sounded fantastic. But I didn’t want to go out
and see the unholy mess again. Fortunately, we could avoid that. I said, “Okay.
Let’s get out of here. Back way out, please?”

Dana nodded and said, “Back door it is! I’m parked out that way
in any case, so it’s not a problem.”

Quickly, she turned off the lights as we went down the
stairs as I slipped my coat on and zipped it up. I sniffed and looked at it. It
was ruined. Eh, the coat would last me long enough to get home. Leaving out the
back way of the library, Dana locked the door behind her. She turned and
yawned.

Shaking her head to try to wake up, Dana said, “Yes, I
definitely need a long shower, some hot chocolate, and my bed. So I’ll take you
home, I’ll go to mine, and we’ll both snuggle under the covers until…oh, who
knows
when. I just know that I’m so not cleaning up
that mess inside.”

She looked around the hilly area with the winding paths, and
then back at the library. She said, “Funny, back in the 1930s, Lyle Graettinger
wanted this place to be about more than just books. He wanted it to be a place
of joy for the mind. Where people could take a break from everyday toils and look
at art, music, knowledge.”

Dana looked at me with a wistful sadness. “I wonder what he
would think of it now.”

If she expected me to be philosophical, Dana was in for a
disappointment. Still, something did come to my mind, and I said, “That it was
used to save lives? It was used in the right way.”

Her expression of surprised joy was more than enough to make my
morning. But she brought me up short when she asked, “So who were those kids
you were yelling at? I heard a bit of it, but I was busy. The girl looked
familiar…”

We started walking toward her SUV. I waited a moment to answer
her, trying to gather my thoughts. Then I said, “I don’t know; I think
they’re, like, Avatar junkies or something. Angela Tursow—
remember
her? That’s who the girl was. The tall guy was her brother. Seriously, they
wanted to tell me about how Alex had changed things for them. Like I said
Avatar junkies…”

Dana sighed. “I knew that was going to happen. For all his good
intentions, Alex really opened a door that I wish could have remained closed.”

Now, that was the understatement of the year. But as bad as
running into fanatical fans of the Avatar was, I had to wonder what other sorts
of doors Alex had opened. This was about more than
Alex
just showing off his power. I may have been asleep in that chair for a while,
but I had had time to think about this.
It could hardly be a
coincidence that after Alex showed his powers, I would develop them, too.

I started to consider how it could’ve happened when my mind drew
a blank. I realized that I was too tired to think that deeply about things. But
one more thing popped up in my thoughts. Was it possible that Alex might have
done the same to others?
Maybe…

Then someone called to us. “Mr. Hagen! Ms. Sinclair! Can I speak
to you, please? It’s very important!”

I groaned. I knew that voice; weeks had passed since I’d heard
the unctuous, snide tone of it, but I knew that voice all too well. We stopped
and turned to see Dane Eisenhawk walking from around the corner of the library.
He was with the same two FBI agents who had been with him at the hospital. I
said softly, “Please tell me the feds didn’t put this guy in charge of
investigating what happened here.”

Dana growled.
“Eisenhawk.”

“You know him, too?” I said, startled. She nodded and, with a
turn, she started walking away. I joined her.

“Hold it!” Eisenhawk called out. He had a strong note of
authority in his voice, which was surprising for someone so young. With a
glance to each other, we stopped and turned back.

Dana put on a false smile and said, “Mr. Eisenhawk! How goes the
job? Pray tell, what is one of the lead scientific advisors to the President
doing here? This was an act of terrorism, not anything to do with the Avatar.
Where’s Homeland Security? Or is the FBI actually going to take the lead this
time?”

I did a double take. I said, “Wait, what? He told Brand and me
that he was an FBI agent!”

Still walking toward us, Eisenhawk gave me a casual glance and
said, “No, I let the FBI agents with me infer that as I felt the interviewer
would go quicker. My apologies…”

He stopped and said, “However, I do find it interesting that the
two of you were involved. That’s twice now that you’ve shown up around odd
events. Would either of you care to speculate why?”

With a tired-sounding voice, I said, “Wow, yeah, we’re involved
all right, silly us for living in a town of fifteen thousand people. Oh, and we
were in front of the one thing on Main Street that stood out like a perfect
target for a terrorist. Oops.”

Eisenhawk glared at me for a second and then looked suspicious
as he said, “It’s interesting, especially where you’re concerned, Mr. Hagen.
I’ve been to the impound yard where Nathan Jessup’s car is being held. I found
the damage extremely interesting, and inexplicable.”

I stiffened. That was too close for comfort. And worse, he
wasn’t finished. In the same accusatory voice, he said, “And it’s very
interesting that the destroyed memorial wall looks as though it was hit by a
sandblaster and not concussive explosives. You were directly involved with both
occurrences, Mr. Hagen. Are you sure you have no idea of what’s going on?”

I shrugged. I was edgy about his mention of Nathan’s car. But at
this point, he really had nothing to go on. “Sorry, pure coincidence. That’s
all it is.”

Eisenhawk looked at me for a moment. Then he said, “However,
while the damage may go unexplained, I have to wonder if, perhaps, you’ve
become paranoid about certain people in your town?
Maybe to
such an extent that you’ve decided to deal with them in a more forceful manner.
It’s not unheard of to have domestic attacks perpetrated by those embittered
over how they’re treated…”

I snarled and said, “You son of a—”

Dana stopped me with a hand on my arm. I looked at her. She
distinctly shook her head and looked at Eisenhawk. She said, “Enough of this.
Vaughn is not the center of your investigation. Jessup hit a pole; that’s what
is in the police report. The memorial wall was already falling apart from
whatever exploded near it. And given that we were seen by a fair number of
people at the time of the blasts, I would say that you’re insane.”

Dana’s eyes narrowed in speculation then. She said, "Except
that’s why you’re here, isn’t it, to investigate these strange explosions?
After all, cars don’t blow up on their own, Doctor. And my father has already
confirmed that whatever caused the blasts came from a single point outside the
vehicles. But there was no sign of any evidence to suggest the use of rockets.
He was told that it came from something extremely hot and energetic, which
fits, given the intense amount of power in all those explosions.”

Eisenhawk blinked. He said, “Does your father usually tell you
about national security issues, Ms. Sinclair? I’ll have to talk to him about
discussing government secrets so liberally.”

Dana didn’t rise to the bait he was throwing her way. Instead,
she shook her head and said, “I was there when he received the first reports.
They came to him here, in the library. Before your people swooped in and
declared the attack to be in the national interests. So now, you need to go
find out what could have caused this kind of damage, and then leave us the hell
alone! Better yet, go back to investigating Alex. I’m sure that’ll get you
absolutely nowhere.”

Eisenhawk’s eyes widened as he said, “Ms. Sinclair?
Do you think that the Avatar had something to do with this?”

Glaring at him, Dana said, “Yes, he did.”

Huh? I stared at her. So did Eisenhawk. After a moment’s
pause, he said, “How? He’s dead. Unless you think there’s something he may have
done before he destroyed Yama.”

Dana’s voice tightened when she said, “I’d say he saved the
world. And thanks to that, someone has gone insane and started blowing up the
town he came from. As a thank you, I suppose. Now, go away and do your job.
We’re going home and back to living our lives—such as they are.”

Eisenhawk said, “Oh, no. Sorry. It doesn’t work that way. The
FBI will be interviewing all witnesses. Don’t doubt that! But look, since you
did bring it up…you were his friend, Dana, and so were you, Vaughn. I need to
know what you both know about Alex Shaw. No one on Earth
has ever shown this kind of power. How could he have hidden it so
well, and for so long?”

I took a step forward and then stopped when the two agents that
came up with him stiffened and stepped in closer to Eisenhawk. They looked at
me through mirrored sunglasses. They also looked tense and ready to grab me. I
settled on just staring at the man in charge.