Justice (37 page)

I hear more sizzling as he dissolves the fence directly above us. The first of it snaps, then another bit. I can’t move, I’m so terrified.
“
The thing I learned early on, though,
”
he continues as if he’s at the pulpit,
“
is that it really doesn’t matter,
”
he says with a chuckle.
“
Here you are! You saved countless lives, and what do you have to show for it? Your good deeds caused the death of all of those you hold dear. That’s what I’m trying to teach you, Justin! There is no justice in the world!
”
Another two melt.
“
You can save a hundred thousand people, and it wouldn’t matter a bit. There is no point to your self-sacrifice. People will always be selfish. People will always kill each other over money, or drugs, or just for the sheer fun of it. Your life and everything you stand for is
meaningless
. You’re obsolete. Ineffectual.
”
He sprinkles more acid.
“
Redundant. The bad will always outweigh the good. You really can’t save anyone. This is not a world for heroes.
”

Then we hear and see it, a helicopter gliding in behind Alkaline. He turns to view it. GFPD is embossed on it. I’ve never seen anything so beautiful. It circles toward us.
“
Police! Put your hands up!
”
The spotlight shines on him, and he smiles as he raises his arms. Inside there are four men with assault rifles pointed at him. The chopper moves toward the helipad.

Alkaline gazes down at us, triumph still on his face.
“
Too late.
”

He’s right. Two more links rip and a third pops a second later. Only four left. We drop another few inches. It can’t hold us anymore. I look up at Justin, and he down at me, and I know it. My best friend smiles down at me with such love it’s as brilliant as the sunrise.

And my stomach free falls.
“
You’re wrong, Ryder.
So
wrong,
”
Justin says calmly.

“
Justin…
”
I say through the panic.

“
I love you.
”

He lets go.

Both Alkaline and I shout,
“
No!
”
as he plummets down and down and down for what feels like an eternity, thirty stories into the black river. I can’t even see or hear the splash.

He’s gone. He’s gone.

I hang here, unable to even blink. Anguish like nothing I have ever felt envelops me. The world disappears. There is nothing. I gaze at my quivering fingers. It’d be so easy. Just open them and plunge. The ultimate freedom. I’m tired. So tired. Just open. Open! They won’t. If I do this, Alkaline wins. The ultimate selfish act. It’d all be for nothing. He’d win.
No
.

My gaze whips up to his stunned and angry one. For the thirty seconds it takes for the helicopter to land and SWAT to run up to Alkaline, we don’t break the silent battle. Not even when I climb up or they push him to the ground and handcuff him. We are the only two people in the world. Never breaking eye contact, Alkaline is yanked up, a small smile on his face.

“
What he did doesn’t prove a thing,
”
he says with a smug smile before they begin leading him away. He knows what’s in store for him. Three meals a day. Fan mail. More time to plot his escape. We’re both aware of it. Not fair.

“
Wait!
”

With one fluid moment I pick up the shotgun at my feet and point it at him. The sound of my cocking it makes him and Alvarez, the SWAT officer, turn. I briefly glance at Alvarez, something in my eyes making him relax. He knows me. Brothers in blue always. He’ll cover for me, no question. He even steps away when I gesture for him to. Ryder’s smile falters, but doesn’t disappear.

My best friend just died before my eyes because of him.

He’s terrorized the city for years.

Killed dozens.

Tortured.

Maimed.

Destroyed my life.

It’s not fair.

My finger puts pressure on the trigger as Alkaline watches, captivated yet horrified. A slight twitch of the finger and it’s all over. Something visceral inside me longs to see his head explode right here, right now. It’s feel so fucking sweet. He deserves to die, and I have every reason to kill him. He knows it.

“
But this does.
”
I lower the barrel and toss the gun to Alvarez. Both men are shocked, Alkaline’s smile turning into a scowl.
“
The good guys win, even when they lose.
”

“
Come on,
”
Alvarez says as he yanks the livid Alkaline away. I wait until he’s out of sight before I turn back to the night sky and waterfall in the distance, hugging myself and shaking until Harry wraps me into his warm arms. I burst into tears.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Justified

Fifty thousand people from all walks of life have come together in Stan Lee Park to honor my best friend, the largest gathering in the city’s history. I insisted it be called a celebration of life instead of a memorial, just the way Justin would have wanted it. There’s even a Ferris wheel, games, and clowns around with all proceeds going to the hospital. Justin and Rebecca would approve.

I do wish he could have been interred in the Pendergast crypt with his parents and grandparents, or had a proper funeral, but this is better. His body never washed up. They dragged the river for days, but not even a shoe surfaced. For those days I clung to the hope he made it, that he could survive, but I know that’s not the case. He would have made contact by now. Not even Justice could survive a thirty story fall into water without being knocked out and subsequently drowning. He was officially declared dead a week later.

The media went into an orgasmic frenzy over the whole thing. The public couldn’t get enough of the whole story. Galilee’s captain of industry and upholder of justice, protector of the weak, all melded into one handsome package gives his life for his best friend. The news stations rehashed both his lives until he was practically canonized for sainthood. I don’t disagree.

I lean against a tree near the stage, a small smile on my face as a twenty-something girl tells the story of the time Justice saved her from being raped. The man was convicted and tried, and she became a rape crisis counselor, to help others like her. This type of story, coupled with anecdotes about the men behind the mask, have been going on for almost two hours. I especially loved Bitsy’s retelling of their dinner in New Urbana when she looked across the table and just
knew
he was Justice. So never happened. The girl finishes to applause and steps off the stage, replaced by an elderly gentleman who recounts the time Justice saved him from a mugging twenty years ago.

After a dozen police and bystanders saw Justin recover in a few minutes from two shots to the head, the Pendergast secret was out of the bag. I didn’t deny it. They deserve to be recognized for all they’ve done for this city. Good deeds should be acknowledged, and fifty thousand people here agree with me.

Harry worms his way through the crowd with my water.
“
Sorry. There was a line.
”
He gives me a kiss before handing me my drink.
“
Hey, you’ll never guess who is here. Captain Moonlight. I used to have his poster over my bed when I was a kid.
”
He slides his hand around my waist and I rest my head on his shoulder.
“
I got his autograph.
”
I smile at him. Don’t know if I love him yet, but I sure as hell need him.

The old man finishes and we all applaud. Shannon, an absolute god-send these last two weeks, rushes over.
“
The press is getting restless. You should go on next.
”

“
Okay,
”
I say. She nods and runs off to put out more fires.

Harry looks at me full of concern.
“
You know you don’t have to do this. If you don’t want to or aren’t ready—
”

I press my finger to his well meaning lips.
“
Of course I do. Think a little thing like fifty thousand people is going to scare me? I think not.
”
But it does. It
so
does.

“
What if they ask you about Alkaline? Or Grace?
”

“
I tell the truth.
”

Ryder and Grace were both taken into custody and charged, but only Grace pleaded not guilty. I have a trial to look forward to in the coming months, but right now she’s in solitary under close scrutiny. As for Alkaline, even I don’t know where they took him. It’s rumored he’s in the underground bowel of the prison, completely cut off from humanity and doped to the gills where he will remain until the end of his days. They won’t make the same mistake twice. I just pray they don’t make any new ones.

There are times when the weight of regret crushes me. When I walked into Justin’s bedroom and smelled his scent. When I had to tell Lucy that her nephew was dead. When I wake in a cold sweat from a nightmare as I just watch him fall over and over again is almost unbearable. Pretty much every second of the day because Alkaline’s out there breathing when my best friend isn’t. But it’s not about what’s fair, it’s about what’s right. I get that now. It’s not about dying for Justice, it’s about maintaining justice. Much harder.

The speaker, an old friend of J.T.’s, finishes his tale and the audience applauds. The mayor steps onto the stage to introduce me. I hand Harry my water and fluff my hair.
“
How do I look?
”

“
Beautiful,
”
Harry says with a proud smile.
“
Absolutely beautiful.
”

I give him a quick kiss before walking toward the stage. The photographers go nuts and reporters shout questions. V waves and I wave back. She’s been getting scoops and exclusives from me for two weeks. I take care of my friends.

“
…the woman who put this day together, Joanna Fallon.
”

The audience roars with applause. I smile graciously as I step onto the stage, waving.
“
Thank you!
”
I say into the microphone.
“
Thank you everyone!
”
The applause continues for a few more seconds then dies down.
“
I want to, um, thank you all for being here today. This is an amazing turn out. And I want to thank all the people who shared their stories today. It really…means a lot.
”
The audience applauds again and I nod. Harry beams up at me as Dobbs joins him. I smile back before continuing.

“
We’re all here today to honor a man, well rather a family of men, who gave their lives for this city. By now you are all aware of who I am speaking of. J.J., J.T., and Justin Pendergast IV, Justice.
”
They go wild again.
“
Now, I never had the honor of meeting the others, but they touched my life regardless, as they have all of yours. Like many of you, I grew up worshiping the man who called himself Justice. I’m sure I’m not alone in having an old box filled with t-shirts, posters, and action figures of Justice tucked away in my closet. You know who you are.
”
The people chuckle with me.
“
I wish I had known them. They were honorable, brave, and helped make this great city what it is today.
”

I hold for applause again, and then take a deep breath. I have one goal today. To get through this without crying.
“
Like all of the other speakers today, I have a story about our hero to share. When I was twelve and he was just thirteen, Justin Pendergast saved my life. He didn’t do it with brute force or super-speed or any type of superpower. You see, my father had just been murdered. My father was my best friend, my protector, the best man I’ve ever known. And his death, the unfairness of it, the hole it left in my life was just…too much. I found myself alone in the dead of winter, icicles forming on my cheeks from my tears, looking over the side of Pendergast Bridge willing myself to jump.
”
I meet Harry’s eyes and give a small smile. I’ve never told him this story. His visage is pained, but he garners a reassuring smile. I can continue now.
“
I didn’t hear him approach. I was too busy working the odds of breaking through the ice versus crashing onto it like concrete.

“
’Do you need help?’ was the first thing he said to me. I turned around, not all together happy with the presence of another human being, and more than willing to let him know this. But the moment I set eyes on him, I was speechless. For those of you who don’t know me, I should tell you this was an unprecedented occurrence.
”
The audience laughs along with me.
“
Here was this gorgeous thirteen-year-old boy coming to my rescue, in a limo no less. It took me a moment, but I reminded myself what I was there to do. No raging hormones or angelic boy was going to stop Joanna Fallon from doing what she wanted to do. I told him to go away in a not very nice way. He just stood there and said, ‘I can’t do that.’ That…did not go over well with me. I will not repeat the litany of abuse that followed because it would make a sailor blush.
”
More laughs.

I gaze at the audience and shrug my shoulders.
“
He still wouldn’t go. ‘What kind of person would I be if I left you here?’ he asked me. So he didn’t leave. He stood on that bridge with a total stranger freezing his butt off, shivering next to me, for an hour just talking. That was it, he just talked to me…until there was nothing left to say. He took my hand and we walked off that bridge together. You’re looking at the first person Justin Pendergast IV saved, and he did it with a smile, some conversation, and just—showing—up,
”
I say, my voice cracking.

I pause to collect myself. I’m going to cry, I know it. I can’t do this without breaking down. I can’t. An errant tear leaks out and slides down my cheek. I don’t have the strength. The audience murmurs about me. I’m about to step off the stage when I see him. Off in the distance, standing alone underneath a tree, I see a tall man, hair rimmed gold by the sun, smiling at me with such love and pride. All fear vanishes and grace washes through my soul. I smile back before he gallantly nods, tipping his imaginary hat, and vanishes before my eyes. I look down at the podium, breathless. A newfound strength settles into my bones, and I look up at the concerned audience, and hold my head held high.

“
’All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.’ These are the words Justin Pendergast lived by. Words he took to heart, and practiced every day. He didn’t have to don the costume his ancestors did. He didn’t have to go out there every night, getting shot and stabbed to stop the muggers, rapists, and crazies with superpowers. He did it because he felt it was the right thing to do. The just thing. He did it…because this city is worth it. People are worth it.
”
I look at the audience, catching the eyes of as many people as I can.

“
And don’t a single one of you forget it.
”

I step off the stage to uproarious applause. Thank you, Justin.

The press shouts questions at me and city government members congratulate me as I scan the crowd for Harry. A patrol woman is speaking to him, both very intense. He tells her something and she runs off. I push my way to him. The woman comes back with her partner, just as I reach them.
“
What’s going on?
”

“
Hexen’s enchanted some trees,
”
Harry says with a sigh.
“
They’re coming this way, threatening everyone. It’s a mess.
”
He shakes his head.
“
Just another day in Galilee Falls.
”

A woman screams in the distance. The stomping begins a second later as the tops of trees sway and part as the monster approaches. The crowd panics, dispersing every which way in pandemonium.
“
Oh, hell,
”
I say as I pull out my gun and badge from my purse. A hero’s work is never done.
“
Let’s go get him.
”
And we run into the fray.

God, I love this city.

Joanna Fallon will return in Book Two coming soon…