Cape Crossed

Chapter Two

"You didn't get it?" the shrill voice echoed across the empty parking lot from the phone's speaker.

Hijack was quick to lower the volume before he moved it back to his ear. "You sound like a rabid chipmunk. Maybe you should give up the helium, Surge," he said. The ringing in his ear faded so that he could more clearly hear her angry muttering and the tap of her shoes as she paced in what he assumed would be her office. He'd only visited the cluttered room once but the dark wood floors left an impression.

"My sincerest apologies, I must be a little upset because someone screwed up and didn't get me my diamond," she said pointedly. "What went wrong?"

"Bad schematics," Hijack answered. He waved to Knightmare who had grabbed a plastic bag from behind a loose grate cover. The mad pulled a granola bar out as he left, dark purple clothes fading away to an ordinary pair of jeans and a green shirt. "You should update your employees on the basics of information trading. I can't lock down a security system if I've got bad intel."

"You're right, you're right. I'll have a word with them," Surge assured him.

Hijack made quiet agreements and relayed the details of the failed heist as he pulled off his brightly colored outerwear. His eyes scanned the garage every few seconds until he'd pulled on a pair of loose sweatpants and a sweater. The fabric was barely gentle enough not to aggravate the sore muscles on his back and arm. "Now about my payment."

"You didn't finish the job. No diamond, no deal."

"Are you kidding? What about hazard pay?" Hijack kicked off one of his boots, ducking when it accidentally thumped against the ground and shot up at the ceiling. It whizzed by his head and he snagged it by the laces before it could do any damage to one of the cars parked nearby. "I wasted an entire week on this shit and because of the information you supplied, I don't get paid. That's bull, Surge."

She laughed and her desk chair squeaked on its wheels as she settled into it. "If you had done the job properly there would have been no hazard," she pointed out. "And I did give you that bit of dough up front. What you really want can't be split into partial pay. I'm sure you'll find another way to help me out in exchange for it."

Jake jammed his gear away and tucked it into a false bottom in his trunk. The carpeted panel slid back into place seamlessly. "And what exactly would that be?"

"I still need the diamond, don't I? Give me a little time to come up with something else and I'll get back to you," she promised.

Any argument against it died in Jake's throat before it could move past an idle thought. She had him pinned down in a corner and she knew it. There was little he wouldn't do to get ahold of the information she'd dangled in front of his face two months ago. News about a guy digging into deaths caused by supers didn't stay secret for long in the Odium, the cleverly named network of villains and miscreants that Jake had wormed his way into.

"You little shit." The words came out like a hiss between his clenched teeth. "Fine, whatever, I'm going home. Call me when you have something competent for me to do." He threw the black phone into his pocket and locked the car. It chirped twice and then settled, as silent as the others around it. Jake dug the heels of his hands into his closed eyes, willing the lurking headache to lurk itself back to the hell it was trying to crawl out of. He groaned and blinked away the spots dancing between the flickering lights of the garage.

Amidst the splotchy blobs and squiggling lines, he spotted a familiar head of dark red hair hurrying towards the elevator. His heart skipped more beats than a confused drummer and started pounding just as hard. Barefoot and still tying the thin rope of his sweatpants, he raced outside and to the fire escape. The ladder gave him a moment of resistance before it came loose and slid down. Jake was amazed no one threw open their window as he rattled by on the rickety stairs and ladders. It could have had something to do with the rise in robberies in the area, in which case he was glad it kept his neighbors from nosing into his business.