"Yeah, I bet."
"After that, things rapidly deteriorated. He activated his contingency plan: opened up the city boundaries, activated the synoids to complete the population, then used his carbon copy to place himself in the narrative."
"But in reality, he vanished."
"Exactly. Afraid for his life, he's been in hiding ever since. But his hand still stirred the pot if you knew where to look. Especially with you."
"What about me?"
"If you don’t think Faraday had a hand in guiding your ascendance then you need your head examined. A long sequence of fortuitous events led you to become the most dangerous man in New Haven. You being a man, I'm sure you credited your charm and lethal skills. You might be formidable, but you've had help along the way, Mike. Your own fairy godfather made sure you bumbled your way to the top every time."
I shifted in my seat, wincing from the bruises I'd collected in the last few hours. "The top, huh? I thought it would be a little more comfortable than this."
"You'd be wrong. The king of the mountain sits on a precarious throne — remember that."
I glanced outside the window. "Yeah, but it's one helluva view."
Even with the nonstop rain, the city glowed as if the towering structures wore radiant skins. From our height, it was impossible to see the traffic below, but I imagined the crowds of people streaming to Haven Square, the center of festivity and opulence in the city. Every New Year, the district filled to bursting with revelers celebrating new beginnings. And in just a few hours, the Square would be just as packed, if not more so. It was a recipe for disaster under any circumstances, but it was about to go nuclear if Kilgore wasn’t stopped. I knew what was going to happen as sure as if looking into the future.
I glanced down when my holoband buzzed. Captain Flask's gruff face appeared on the screen. "What is it, Mike?"
"Shut down the rally, Flask. I don't care how you do it, just get it done. Matter of life and death — I don't have time to explain."
He frowned. "I bet you don't. Why can't we track your band, Mike? You shouldn't be able to go dark like this."
"Are you seriously gonna go all law and order on me right now? Didn't you hear what I just said?"
"Yeah, I heard. Thing is, I can't do anything about it. This thing is out of control. Too many bodies, not enough cops. I'd have to go full riot mode to get any attention, and there's no way in hell I'm gonna do that to a bunch of people gathering to mourn their losses."
"Not even to save their lives? I'm telling you, Kilgore is gonna—"
"I've got the place swamped with badges. We're scanning every nearby building and even under the streets for killer metahumans or explosives. We got it under control, Mike. Right now, I need to know exactly where you are."
My eyes narrowed. "Why?"
"Because I just got word of some severe charges against you, Mike. And if even half are true, you need to turn yourself in right now. I don't want to distract an already loaded situation with a second manhunt, but I'll do it if I have to. Don't force my hand. Think about Natasha. How she will feel when the order comes from dispatch. Do the right thing, Mike."
"Yeah, I don't think so, Flask. Lemme guess: you got an info dump from an anonymous source, loaded with accusations against my person. No need to answer, I know you did. An obvious ploy from Kilgore to distract you from focusing on what he's about to do. No matter how damning the so-called evidence, you know me, Flask. You don’t know Kilgore. And I'm telling you, he's gonna kill a lot of people tonight if you don't act right now."
"I don't know who to trust or believe right now, Mike. I thought you were Mick Trubble all this time, and you aren't. So, I don't know who the hell you are. You have fifteen minutes to voluntarily turn yourself in. After that, the order goes out, and God help you then."
"God's got nothing to do with this, Flask. I'll think it over."
As I shut down the transmission, Selene studied me from the corner of her eyes. "What was that about?"
"Just another day in the life, Selene. Kilgore will do whatever it takes to keep me off his trail, even if it means manipulating the boys in black. What else is new?" I clicked over to Lord Troll's number. "I need another favor, LT."
"Bloody hell, Mick. It's only been a few minutes. Do me a favor and piss off, mate — I'll call you if I find anything, got it?"
"It's a simple request this time. I need a scan of a building. Look for a hidden room or level that's off the blueprints. Sending you the address now."
"Right, gimme a tic." His profile rocked as he searched via his holovisor. "Okay, got it. You're right — I spy an extra room off the books. Twentieth level."
I sighed. "Of course it is. Much appreciated, LT. Send the info to my holoband if you please."
"Coming your way now."
I pulled the scan up after he severed the connection. "Guess there's only one option left to stop this from happening."
Selene took a curious glance at the readout. "Lots of heat in there. I'm thinking servers or lab equipment. Faraday?"
"That's right. The good doctor himself. I'm gonna pull him outta hiding if I gotta do it by a gun to his head."
"I certainly wouldn't stop you. It would be nice if I knew where we're going, though."
I glanced out the window as the floater lowered into the depths of the Flats district, hovering by one of the massive tenement buildings. "We're here."
She glanced at the building's red neon letters in surprise. "The Luzzatti? This is your old apartment building, Mick."
A thin smile slid across my face. "You bet it is. Like Mayor Beck told me before his circuits burned out: home is where the heart is."
The building was two stories deep in water and flooding fast. Emergency pumps worked overtime to slow the damage, but there was nowhere for the water to go. We had to be quick, and I wasn't sure if there was enough time. There never was. Everything I'd experienced in New Haven sank into dark waters, leaving nothing but murky shadows to attest to ever having happened at all. I wasn’t too upset about it, though. I had stolen time and a life, and every thief got caught sooner or later.
Like the wise man said: all good things came to an end.
The floater docked at the twentieth story, hovering in place so that we could exit, shoot out a couple of windows, and leap inside. The room was deserted, clothes and belongings scattered as the former occupants scrambled to pack whatever they could carry before evacuating with the rest of the tenants. I knew Natasha had made the safe passage of her tenants a priority, and probably had them safely housed Uptown somewhere. Her simple life belied the fact that she was ripe with berries on account of her rental property, so she could afford the hit to her pocketbook. The rest was insured, and she'd be able to recoup after things were over.
If there was anything left to recover.
Selene leaped in after me, eyes searching and inferno handgun sweeping the room. "Why here, Mick? Did you know all this time?"
I headed out the room toward the hallway. "No, I was going off a hunch. I wasn't all the way sure until you said something a few seconds ago."
"I did?"
"What you said about Faraday watching out for me behind the scenes. I've been trying to figure out what Beck meant when he said Faraday was at home. But he didn't mean Faraday's home. He meant mine. The only place where I ever felt safe and relaxed. Here, at the Luzzatti. Just like you said, I didn't end up here by coincidence. Faraday was pulling strings, guiding me to his place of hiding. I thought I was protecting Natasha's folks, but in reality, I was guarding Faraday. Securing the Luzzatti, making sure everyone knew if they came around with anything less than goodwill, they'd have to deal with me."