Ruddy shifted his weight from one foot to another as Corey inspected the truck with a flashlight. The damage looked worse than he remembered. Both headlights were smashed, and the hood was dented in.
“You can fix it, right?” he said.
Corey sighed. “Not without parts.”
“Can’t we just grab parts off another car?” Ruddy said.
Corey gestured at the empty parking lot. “If we had another car, we’d just take it.”
“And you can’t grab parts from any old car,” Xeke said. “No way in hell we’d find anything compatible. It’s not like there’s an AutoZone.”
“Oh,” Ruddy said. “I didn’t know it was so complicated.”
“I thought you said you chased them away from the truck,” Xeke said.
“I did,” Ruddy said. “As soon as I heard all the noise. By the time I … dammit, you can’t expect me to be everywhere at once! It’s not like I had Teri around to watch things. At least I stopped them before they took the supplies.”
Xeke rolled his eyes. “Settle down. I wasn’t blaming you.”
“No, you were just pointing out how I fucked up.”
Corey pressed his hands into his temples. “Can you please stop arguing? We can’t leave until morning, not unless one of you can drive down a winding mountain road without headlights. We just have to hope DSSA doesn’t get here before then.”
Ruddy glared. “I’m so sick of Xeke saying I’m useless!”
“You’re not useless,” Corey said. “You kept us safe last night.”
“Stop coddling him,” Xeke said. “We’re all grownups here. If Ruddy thinks he’s useless, who are we to argue?”
“Finally!” Ruddy threw his hands into the air. “Honesty. Now we’re getting somewhere.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” Xeke yelled. “I don’t think you’re useless! I’m just so goddamned sick of hearing you say it! If someone else talked about you the way you talk about yourself, I’d kick their ass.”
Ruddy wanted to punch Xeke in his smug face. Then his rage deflated, and he sighed. “You’re right. I am useless.”
Xeke glared at Corey. “I can’t even with him anymore. I’m going to go find George. We can’t leave him here.”
“Before you go,” Corey said. “The bumper is loose. I’m worried it’ll come off and damage the tires. I could use your help to put it all back together.”
“I can go find George,” Ruddy said. “That way you guys can work on the truck without me in the way.” He glared at Xeke. “Unless you think I can’t do that?”
“No, I think it’s a great idea,” Xeke said.
Smart ass know-it-all, Ruddy thought. He growled and turned to kick the tire, then thought better of it.
“Hey,” Xeke said.
Ruddy kept walking but Xeke stepped into his path.
“What?”
“I know you’re mad at me but do us all a favor and try not to use your powers.”
“Don’t worry,” Ruddy said. “I won’t hulk out and break George in half.”
He tried to step past, but Xeke blocked him again. “That’s not what I mean. Well, that too, but … Teri’s gone so everyone can see us, and you know how loud your powers are. I just want to be sure that you know not to …”
Ruddy felt his face heating. “So, I’m not just useless, I’m stupid too?”
“For the love of … no. I just wanted to make sure you were thinking about it.”
Ruddy saluted him. “Yes, sir, captain, sir! I won’t forget, sir.”
For a second, he thought Xeke was going to hit him, but he just shook his head and turned away. Ruddy stomped off toward George’s house.
Teri, where are you? We need you! Please don’t leave me alone with this asshole.
*
George’s front door slammed open and Ruddy stomped in. George froze with his beer halfway to his mouth.
The only light in the room came from a failing glow stick and an old flashlight lantern. The shadows on Ruddy’s face made him look even more terrifying than usual.
“We need to talk,” Ruddy said.
“What are you doing in my house?” George squeaked.
Ruddy shrugged. “I’ve been looking for you.”
“You don’t know how to knock?”
“Sorry. I didn’t know if you were still here.”
“Knocking is a good way to find that sort of thing out.”
Ruddy’s eyes flashed. “You tekes are all the same, aren’t you?”
Something snapped inside George. “You know what? I’m not going to be your punching bag. Fuck that. Bring it on, big guy.” He drew in his power. The curtains stirred.
Ruddy blinked. “What?”
“You heard me. Give me your best shot. Let’s go! I may not be able to beat you, but I’d rather die than let you kick me around in my own house.”
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“You think I …?” Ruddy held up his hands. “No. That’s not why I’m here! Why would you think that?”
“I dunno, because last time I saw you, you kicked the shit out of me?”
George could swear Ruddy’s shoulders had gotten smaller in the last few seconds.
“I thought you were attacking Clara,” Ruddy said. “You have to admit, what you were doing was pretty suspicious.”
“I don’t give a shit about your excuses.” George poked a finger into Ruddy’s chest with every word.
Ruddy backed up. “It’s not an excuse, it’s the reason I did it. But I’m sorry, George. I really am.”
“Which part are you sorry for? For almost killing me? For assuming without even knowing me? For sentencing me to death without a trial? For barging into my house and scaring the shit out of me? For the metric fuckton of mud you didn’t bother to wipe off your fucking boots?”
Ruddy winced. “All of it. I’m really, really sorry.”
What the fuck am I doing? George thought. After years of putting up with Adrian, of sniveling and acting stupid, of being forced into corners - all without ever losing his temper - here he was shooting his mouth off in the face of a changeling who could probably tear him in half with his pinky.
He forced himself to relax back into his ski bro persona. “Ah, well. No worries, man. I’ve fucked up plenty of times myself.” He edged towards the back door. “I got some things I need to take care of, but maybe we can talk later.”
“Wait!” Ruddy stepped in front of him. “I need to talk now! Just … sit down. Please.”
George held up his hands. “Sure, man. Whatever you want.” He sat balanced on the edge of the chair, powers held ready so he could be up and out of the room in a second if this asshole went psycho on him again.
Ruddy sat down across the table and grabbed George’s beer, took a pull, then put his head in his hands.
“Teri’s gone,” he said. “She just left.”
George blinked. “Um … who’s Teri?”
“She was mad at me for almost hurting you …”
“Almost?” George said. His back would never be the same after the way he’d been smashed around.
“… and for the way I treated Clara. I want to help both of you get out of here. I’ll show Teri I’m not a monster.”
George wracked his brain, but the name Teri still didn’t mean anything to him. “Um … it’s good of you to think of me, man. But I got plans of my own. I need some time to, you know - kind of figure out my next move.”
Ruddy’s face reddened and he leaned forward. His shoulders got bigger, and flashes of silver played over his skin.
“You’re coming with us,” he said. “You have to.”
George scooted back in his chair.
Ruddy frowned. “No, wait. I’m sorry.” He leaned back and cleared his throat. “I’m not threatening you, it’s just … I’m under a lot of pressure. Xeke wants you to come with us, and it’s really important to him.”
Great, George thought. If I don’t go with them, Ezekiel Daniels is probably going to reach down from the sky and smash me like a bug.
“Come to think of it, maybe sticking together is a good idea,” George said. “Strength in numbers, right, bud?”
Ruddy beamed. “Exactly!”
“So, where are we headed?”
Ruddy took a long swallow of beer. “All I know is Corey has friends and we’re going to meet them.”
George relaxed. Corey was a good man and wasn’t the type to murder helpless prisoners. He raised his bottle to Ruddy. “Hey, man. I’m sorry about all those things I said. I’ve been pretty stressed out. Seriously, thanks for coming to find me. I don’t know what I would have done.”
Ruddy puffed up. “Hey, don’t worry about it. Least I could do. I mean, we weren’t going to just leave you here.”
“Want another beer?” George said. He used his powers to open the fridge and floated two bottles to the table.
Ruddy eyed the beer. “I don’t know. We probably ought to get back to Xeke and Corey?”
George shrugged. “Whatever you say, man.”
Ruddy snatched a beer out of the air, opened it, and took half of it down in one pull. “Eh, screw it. They know where to find us, right?”
George opened his beer and settled in as Ruddy talked. And talked. And talked. George even drifted off several times. Every time he snapped awake, Ruddy was still talking.
“And Xeke! Every time I try to do anything, he acts like he knows better than me.”
A few seconds passed. George realized Ruddy wanted a response to that.
“That’s tough, man,” he said.
“Yeah, I know! He’s so damned arrogant. The great Ezekiel Daniels. He can do more with a screwdriver than I can with superpowers. How can anyone compete with that?”
So far, the only thing George had learned was what little he’d pieced together about this Teri person. She was some sort of uber-powerful mentalist who Ruddy all but worshiped. According to Ruddy, she was mad at him for killing Richard - even though Richard had kidnapped her. George had a million questions about this soap opera, but every time he tried to ask one, Ruddy just talked louder.
“I just wish Xeke would go a little easier on me. If he’d give me a chance to do one single thing without coming in and doing it for me, he’d know I’m not an idiot, right?”
George nodded again. He was starting to feel like a bobblehead.
“Right!” Ruddy said. “Not all of us are Eagle Scouts who can fix cars and get every girl in sight to fall in love with them. There’s no need to lord it over me.”
“Yeah, sure, man. I feel ya.”
“I’m glad you get it. I think you’re the first person who does.”
George shrugged. “Us redheads have to stick together, right?”
Ruddy grinned and slapped his hand down on the table. “You know what? Xeke was right. You’re not a bad guy.”
*
Rodrigues checked his watch. Three minutes to midnight. It’d taken him hours to sneak through town and climb the tower of The Lodge, an old restaurant and hotel overlooking Cloudcroft.
It had been a while since he’d heard the last blip of Darby using her powers. She was probably asleep. He’d heard her battling with Nazimi on the way up the mountain the night before. Massive mentalist powers were at play on both sides, and she’d need time to recover.
He switched his infra-red scope to night mode and scanned the town. The scope showed heat as bright white against a dark grayscale background. He could tell which houses had people in them and which vehicles had been started in the last few hours.
Packs of locals still roamed among the homes and businesses further down the mountain, but this area, where the nicer homes were located, had been quiet for hours.
Two men worked on the only vehicle left in the huge parking lot below. One of them was the right height and build to be Daniels. The more Rodrigues watched, the more convinced he was.
Daniels walked across the parking lot to a nearby cabin with heat radiating from its chimney. A few minutes later, he returned with hot food and a steaming thermos.
Darby must be in that house. He scanned the building. A fireplace roared in one of the rooms, making it stand out like a Christmas tree but also making it impossible to determine where any occupants might be.
I wish I had an RPG, he thought. One shot through the window and it’d be over. He slowed his breath to keep the adrenaline from making him jumpy. No, that wouldn’t work. He had to be sure she was here before he broke cover.
According to his intel, Darby relied heavily on a wide-area invisibility net. He smiled. That wouldn’t work on him. In fact, if she did it while he was in range, he’d see exactly where she was.
She’s gonna wake up, turn on her invisibility net, and walk out the door. Then bang. No more Darby.
The moon rose, casting the parking lot in its pale light. The two men working on the truck closed the hood and disappeared into their cabin.
A flash of teke power came from another house. Rodrigues shifted his rifle and settled his scope on a giant bay window. It was lit up inside, so he switched off his night vision.
He blinked. For a moment, he saw two Ruddy Unglesbys sitting across from each other at a table.
He zoomed in. Ah. Unglesby’s companion had narrow shoulders and lacked the neanderthal brow that made Ruddy stand out in a crowd. They were both tall enough to play pro basketball, and they both had shocking red hair. From a distance, they could be brothers.
DSSA reports on Cloudcroft said that Adrian Wiley’s strongest teke was a tall redhead - George something. This must be him.
Unglesby had a bottle in one hand, and his arms gesticulated like he was telling a story. His companion nodded every few seconds.
It was too bad Unglesby wasn’t his target. Both of these idiots were sitting ducks, getting drunk in front of a window for the world to see.
Rodrigues waited and watched. Occasional bursts of power confirmed Unglesby’s companion was a teke. Both would make excellent additions to the DSSA fold.
They drank enough beer that it was a wonder they didn’t pass out. Unglesby never stopped talking. Around four o’clock he slumped into his chair. A few minutes later, the teke got up from the table. The windows went dark.
Rodrigues settled down to wait.
