Cape Crossed

Chapter Twenty-Seven

It came as no surprise to Silver Shield that the address she'd been sent lead to an abandoned factory. Somehow every villain had an affinity for them. Maybe it was the seclusion, or the off the grid feel to them. She thought the aesthetic may have had a part to play in it. Whatever the reason, she hoped to never see another in her life.

The street was clear. No many people wandered around in South City for fun. "Is too quiet a cliche line?" she asked herself. The double doors ahead stood like waiting guardsmen. Someone had been kind enough to undo the chains ahead of time.

Inside was nearly as desolate as the outside, her footsteps echoed like cannon fire through the halls. No one confronted her. As far as she could tell, the building was completely deserted. Silver took a deep breath and called out, "Jake? Mr. Erwin?"

From upstairs came an answering jangle of chains. Silver took off faster than a cheetah on a motorbike and took the steps three at a time. She jumped the last six and hurled her body as the door that stood between her and her goal. The blue metal door hit the ground in a puff of dust. Silver raised her fists, ready for a fight, but still no one.

Jake jangled his chains again from the corner of the room. They'd left him restrained to a rickety patio chair alone in the room, a strip of duct tape over his mouth. He grunted at her in greeting.

"Are you hurt?" Silver looked around for anything in the room, a trap, a camera, something. This was seeming to be the most ridiculous kidnapping in history. Why drag her here at all?

Jake shook his head and held his wrists up to her as high as he could from the chair arms.

"Right right," she muttered, breaking the links on top so the entire chain fell away. "We need to get you out of here, follow me."

"I can't believe you actually came," Jake said from behind her.

"Of course I did. Did you think I'd just leave you here?"

"I'm just surprised. I knew you and Hannah had to be close, I just didn't realize it was this close. Call in a favor from a super close."

"I have an incredibly difficult time saying no to her," Silver grumbled.

"That really is unlucky," Jake sighed.

"What-" As Silver turned, a jolt of electricity raced across her body. Her joints locked up and her legs gave out. The prongs from the taser stuck to her back where they'd originally made contact. Even through both her cape and suit she could feel them digging into her skin. Maybe it was time to upgrade the suit.

"I didn't think it'd be so easy," Jake said. He tossed the taser to the ground. It continued to send pulses of electricity, effectively keeping Silver down. "Had I know all I needed to do was fake my kidnapping to get you here this could have been over years ago."

"Fake your kidnapping?" Silver grunted and tried to twist her arm around to pull the wires. Her biological enhancements couldn't handle this much electric stimulation. Sooner or later they'd give out and she'd begin to feel the effects the same as any human.

"Of course." Jake nudged her hand back to the front with a tap from front his foot. "But I was so caught up in worrying about Hannah connecting the dots, I held back."

Silver's eyes widened behind her mask and her jaw fell slack. "Are you kidding me? You're Hijack?"

"Correct, ten points to you," he answered. "And I have a few questions for you. You're going to answer them as fully as you can, and then, I am going to make sure the whole world knows exactly who you are and what you did."

"Jake, you don't want to do this."

"Except I do."

"Please, I haven't done anything. Let's just talk," she pleaded.

"Haven't done anything?" Jake shoved her by the shoulder onto her back. The prongs dug deeper and for a second, she could feel the loose granite from the old floor cut into her arm. "You know exactly what you did! You left her to die!"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Lorelei Kelley, you left her to die," he snapped. "You remember now? She was pinned and you left her there."

"I didn't want to, if there had been a way to get her out-"

"You're a hero! You're supposed to find a way."

"I wasn't a hero then," Silver mumbled. The ceiling a over her blurred as she fought to keep her eyes open. Another wave of shocks took her breath away. "I was a waitress, I was saving up for med school."

"Oh please, stealing Hannah's..." Jake's voice wavered as he turned back to her.

"I'm really sorry, I should have told you so much sooner," Hannah whispered. With trembling fingers she pushed off her mask. The wig had already been knocked askew and red hairs peeked from under the shorter silver bob. "I was afraid you'd hate me." She started laughing, only stopping when another shock made her stiffen.

"No, this isn't how this is supposed to happen." Jake pushed his hands through his hair and stepped back.

"Jake, I can explain everything. I swear I'll answer whatever questions you have, but I need you to call for help." Hannah pushed at the taser, too shaky to do anything about where it attached to her back.

"Oh shit." He didn't waste another second in dropping to his knees to deactivate the device. "I... it was the only way I could keep Silver Shield from beating me to a pulp. Keeping you from beating me to a pulp I guess."

"Yeah, neat trick. Now you're going to need to take my phone," she said, panting for air. Her vision blurred, leaving only a pinprick of visibility. "Call the flower shop, my third contact. Tell them you need a bouquet of daffodils, this address." Her eyes closed a second later.