“Why
didn
’
t we do this sooner? Before we were
fired.
”
“I hate him,
but it
’
s a job and I know they
’
re getting a boost in
funding from the federal government to do those experiments, which
means new hires and better salaries than stupid ass
X-Tech.
”
“You hate
him?
”
“He
’
s an attention
seeking weasel.
”
Chris thought
about it for a moment before moving on.
“
I only know how
to fix a couple computer problems and set up routers. I
can
’
t program like you.
”
“I know. They
need technical writers. There
’
s going to be a huge
microscope on top of all this after the president made it public.
They have to have evidence that what is happening is
legal.
”
“That
’
s kind of surprising.
I guess he is being true to his campaign of a transparent
government.
”
“Fuckin
’
traffic.
”
“I still
can
’
t believe they
’
re
real.
”
“Face it.
Spider-man and Wolverine are here.
”
“Or Wonder
Woman.
”
Frank punched
Chris in the arm with a smirk.
“
You perv. I
won
’
t tell Sadie, but I
’
m sure
that
’
s what she would
’
ve
done.
”
“I meant equal
opportunity.
”
“I
wouldn
’
t mind being wrapped up in Wonder
Woman
’
s lasso of truth. You better not let that slip to
Gail.
”
“I
don
’
t slip, I just forget. You
’
re the
perv
…
I was just
…
I
don
’
t know what I was saying.
”
The traffic
lightened and they made their way onto the Altamont. Wind turbines
churned across the yellowing grass hills. Frank sped past the
scattered cars chugging up the freeway. The air conditioner blasted
on full and Chris couldn
’
t keep his eyes off
the temperature gauge. He was thankful for the cool air inside
because it was already high into the eighties outside, but Chris
didn
’
t want the stress of calling and waiting for a tow
service. Nothing stressed Frank out; at least Chris had never seen
him in such a situation.
“Quit freaking
out over there. I can see it all over you,
”
said
Frank.
“Just
nervous.
”
“Don
’
t be.
It
’
s going to be fine. Shit!
”
With
Frank
’
s curse, a semi jackknifed five car lengths in front
of them. Frank smashed the brake pedal sending his pickup swerving
dangerously in the lane next to other panicked drivers doing the
same. To make it all worse, the trailer of the semi lifted off its
wheels and tipped the entire thing on its side blocking the five
lanes completely. All of this took place on an incline of the
Altamont mountain pass. To add on top of everything, the semi and
trailer
’
s weight proved too much for gravity and sent the
metal obstacle skidding down toward the hastily parked
cars.
“Oh shit,
look,
”
said Chris.
Their safety
at stopping in time leapt out the window as the
semi
’
s skid picked up speed and collided with the first
cars. Glass and metal gave way for the bigger hunk of rampaging
metal. Frank turned his head to look out the rear window and only
saw other cars stopped behind them, blocking an escape path. The
passengers that realized what was happening ran from their vehicles
and up the hills on the side of the road. More cars compacted
against the side of the semi with no signs of slowing down. Frank
clenched his hands around the steering wheel while his eyes darted
in every direction. No plan involving staying in the pickup seemed
reasonable so he let go of the wheel and pushed Chris into the
passenger door with one arm while opening his own door with the
other. They raced across the pavement, weaving around stopped cars
to the safety of the golden hills. With a comforting distance set
between them and the sliding semi, Frank and Chris turned to watch
the slow destruction. Frank
’
s pickup sat only a
few feet away from the semi. Chris put his hand on
Frank
’
s shoulder for conciliation. Frank loved his truck,
but did his best to hide that with an angry shout,
“
Bastard!
”
Inches
separated Frank
’
s beloved from an
irreparable accident when the semi stopped. The onlookers looked
around at each other confused. A few clapped slowly in
appreciation. Frank moved forward, but Chris held his shoulder to
wait. There was still a steep grade and the semi should have kept
sliding for a while. Cell phones went up next to
everyone
’
s ears to call insurance companies, police, and
loved ones. Sirens wined now in the distance. No one was hurt, but
the cleanup would take a lot of man power.
“What the hell
is that?
”
asked Frank, pointing to the semi that was now
shaking.
“Oh no, what
do you think
’
s in the cargo? Could
it explode?
”
said Chris.
“Look
out!
”
shouted someone on the hill.
The semi
creaked and groaned as the shaking continued, but it
wasn
’
t just shaking. It was being lifted off the ground.
Chris looked for a crane or a helicopter with wires pulling up the
massive weight, and then more shouts came.
“He
’
s doing
it!
”
“Who?
”
“Oh my
God!
”
“They are
real,
”
said Chris.
“He better not
scratch my truck,
”
said Frank.
A man stood underneath the semi with arms
stretched above his head to support the 80,000 pounds. He stayed in
that position for only a moment. Then with incredible ease he
turned the eighteen wheeler above his head and placed the behemoth
back on its wheels as if none of the events beforehand had ever
occurred. After a shocked silence, the crowd on the hills cheered
louder than a Rolling Stones concert for this new rock star in
front of them and realizing things were relatively safe, rushed the
stage to get a better glimpse at the spectacle.
Frank checked
his truck first for any damage and Chris tagged along, but
eventually they made their way to the hero too. The man stood a
head taller over most of the crowd and smiled at the numerous
congratulations offered to him. Frank gently shoved his way to the
front for Chris and him to take in a better look. The view was
fleeting, because at that moment a black SUV opened its doors to
reclaim the man. As he stepped into the vehicle, Chris glimpsed a
black athletic outfit fitted around the man
’
s defined
muscles. Tall, muscular, and an escape plan. At this angle he
really did fit the part of a superhero.
“I guess he
can
’
t fly,
”
said Frank. The black SUV drove off
leaving the fans wanting more and having nothing left to do but get
in their own cars. Tow trucks came in quickly to pull the damaged
off to repair shops, the police interviewed the truck driver and a
handful of witnesses, but things cleaned up fast. Frank and Chris
sat in the pickup and took in the scene in front of them. Then
Frank looked down at his phone.
“Ha!
It
’
s already on there,
”
said Frank. He
handed his phone to Chris.
“Wow. Louise
will give me crap for a week that I didn
’
t record
this,
”
said Chris.
Traffic started again and they moved past
the excitement to the normal stretch of highway leading on to the
Greenville Road exit.
Chapter Five
“Hey Erik. How the hell are you?” said Frank to a
short man with a sharp nose and chin.
“Frankie boy, I’m perfect as always,” said
Erik, his words blazed out so fast Chris could barely take one in
before the next came out.
“This is my good friend and amazing
technical writer Chris Byrne.”
“Hi, there. Erik Lee. Nice to meet you.”
Erik’s brown eyes traced every inch of Chris before their quick
handshake was over.
“Nice to meet you too,” said Chris.
“You a mind reader now Frank, because I was
literally told this morning about positions opening up,” said Erik.
He led them down the hall with the conversation. Beyond the main
hallway, a large open room with white tiled floor and white walls
made up Chris and Frank’s introduction to the labs. Or rather the
labs connected to the main room. Glass doors allowed an easy view
into the experiments the scientists performed on a daily basis. But
the main room housed the desks and computers for the personnel to
record data. “Keep your name tags pinned on at all times by the
way. I won’t be held responsible for you getting kicked out on your
first day.”
“I thought you would have contacted me if I
could read minds,” said Frank.
“How is this our first day?” asked
Chris.
“It can be your last if you like,” said
Erik. “We need to begin now. If you two pass this test of fire
today, you’re in. CIA is telling us that China and Russia have been
running tests on the local population since the news broke. We have
to stay ahead of the competition.”
“China and Russia? Are we back in the Cold
War?” said Chris.
“If this is all too fast for you, drop the
badge and leave. You should be taking notes of everything I tell
you. All of this is going into the tech journals you’re responsible
to create,” said Erik.
A pad of paper rested on a nearby desk.
Frank scooped it up and shoved it into Chris’s hands along with a
pencil. Chris cut out the humor in his tone.
“Is that the official term, Supers?” asked
Chris with pencil ready.
“No, we’re working on it but that’ll due for
now. As of today there are ten American Supers. We have two with us
in the labs. I am acting head of this division and you along with
the rest of the team will report directly to me. I’ll give you
information as needed and will expect that information to be
recorded and input into a shared program that the rest of the team
may access. That’s where you come in Frank.”
“I’ll have something up and running after
lunch.” Frank nudged Chris.
“And everything will be input within an hour
of the software launch,” said Chris.
“Good answers. Now let me show off our
team,” said Erik.
They reached the end of the main room to a
double glass door. Before they even entered it was evident this was
the largest lab, but once inside the size exceeded all
expectations. The lab dwarfed the main room. An army of fighter
jets and missiles could have been put into a corner and forgotten
about.
“What? You have a tank in here?” said
Frank.
“Obviously,” said Erik, as an M1 Abrams sat
on their left. “We’ve brought in military grade vehicles and
weapons for defensive testing and need as much space as possible. I
convinced them to give us the A1 lab that we’re standing in right
now. Your workstation will be in here for now too so there is less
time wasted going back and forth to the main room.”
The walk continued past mounted machine
guns, rocket launchers, hand grenades, and any other powerful
artillery Erik seemed capable of acquiring for his team. None of
the team members appeared interested in the fire power in the room
at that moment, but instead surrounded someone in a chair. Five
white coats blocked Chris and Frank’s views as they stepped up to
the congregation.
“Alright, quit pretending to work,” said
Erik to the back of the white coats. The five scientists turned
around quickly in attention. The man in the chair stood up as well
and towered behind the scientists.
“Hey, you stopped that semi from squashing
my truck today,” said Frank. The tall man stepped forward to take
in Frank’s admiration more directly. “That was amazing. Thank you.”
Frank shook his hand fiercely.
“It was nothing. All in a day’s work for me
now,” said the tall man. “By the way, the name is Klaus Miller.”
Along with the height, Klaus was the perfect mold of a superhero:
blonde hair, brown eyes, and a chiseled chin taken straight from
the classic leading men of yesteryear.