Category Hard Boiled

No comments In Hard Boiled On July 31, 2018  

A few moments ago:
He heard them. He heard the noise. They faintest footfalls to him were as resounding cannons, but they made so much noise that his enhanced senses had no problem locating their exacting positions. He was fully garbed now in the shroud of the Quester and he allowed century old knowledge and sciences beyond that of man to flood his mind. But first he had one thing to do. He flipped open a small cell phone and made a call.

“…………Smithy. Are you having a good time?”

“Yeah., Q! I mean its real cool of you to fund this little shindig. Where’d ya get the money anyways?”

“Smithy, I thought I told you I didn’t fund it remember.” He said almost forcefully.

“Oh, Yeah….sorry. Anyways its great. Y’know mingling with all these doctors, and fireman…...

No comments In Hard Boiled On July 31, 2018  

The museum stood tall in the darkness, a giant mausoleum holding all its dead history. No lights, just dead windows. Even the flags hung lifeless on the poles. Capin dropped to the ground and crept forward. It was still easier to keep to the shadows as the slivers of light from wherever cast barely touched the ground. Across the street he tucked himself beside a large SUV and surveyed the layout around the Museum. Large black dog heads paced the perimeter in packs. True to anyone with a god complex, Fet may not have been advertising his location, but he wasn’t afraid of company.

“We’ve never had to break into a museum before. You ready to do this?” When they weren’t moving Capin could feel Enry’s weight more and more and his spark less and less.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

Unaccustomed to b...

No comments In Hard Boiled On July 31, 2018  

He breathed deeply. Days had passed and he saw them all as one. Past, present and even glimpses of that which would yet happen. He felt their movements, saw their actions, knew their attacks before they were even here. The vision had been passed to him via a stone of deep, rich purple embedded in his forehead. The vision had happened at least an hour ago and he was still planning every one of his moves in coordination with it. He adjusted the string on the bow and calibrated the weights. Soon he would have to garb himself in his cloak and armour, for now he knew where it lay and the mental connection with it told him it was safe. Soon though, soon it would all happen, soon blood would be spilt. It could not be helped. Some things have to happen to keep the balance, he told himself. Some th...

No comments In Hard Boiled On July 31, 2018  

Bluewolf felt, rather than heard, the commotion caused as Capin made his exit. It did nothing for his disposition. He’d very nearly come to grips with the possibility of being deaf for the rest of his life when Jamie had made the prognosis that he was actually healing, albeit slowly. An odd thought crossed his mind as he pulled on his gloves and prepared to step outside: Perhaps the more complicated the injury the longer it took his accelerated healing to work. Logically it made sense, but it required him to be patient. Unfortunately patience was something he and his friends were in very short supply at the moment. Stepping through the doorway, he felt another impact, this one much closer. He looked over to see the sprawled body of a cultist lying next to his steps...

No comments In Hard Boiled On July 31, 2018  

Jenna paused, pressing her fingers to her eyes. The strain of the past 72 hours threatened to overwhelm her. Worry – for Scott, for Midnite Man, for Bug, for Wolf…for Eddy.

“This is getting me nowhere.” Her fingers flew over the computer as she replied to Kardiac.

“I’ve routed your call for a pick-up through the police department.. Things are a little tight here at the moment, but you wouldn’t know anything about that.” Her voice held a deliberate bite as she glanced down at the incriminating disks.

Kardiac sighed, shaking his head. She was angry, and she had a right to be. Not only had he broken out of Strategoi, but he’d cut her completely out in the time he’d been gone. And now he called her when he needed something. It was a path he’d been walking far too often lately.

“Look, I’m s...

No comments In Hard Boiled On July 31, 2018  

The third floor was unlit, with barely any light aiding from outdoors. Moving around the banister, Capin crept silently toward the open door of one of the guest rooms. He kept his eyes trained on the faint orange outline of a window. A figure moved in and out of the streetlight across the scene. He reached over and grabbed the chair by the bed, gripping its back with both hands. It was heavy and wood. He could feel the ornate carving along the posts that held up the soft worn leather tight between them. He carefully rested its legs back down and reached for the desk chair on wheels.

The figure outside the window moved back into position. The faint scratching sound implied he was attempting to jimmy the lock as quietly as possible, so as to keep their element of surprise...

No comments In Hard Boiled On July 31, 2018  

Another wave of silence filled the connection as both of them avoided the other subject. Just as much as she was waiting for him to bring it up, he was avoiding it. Silhouette broke in first. “Did you find him?”

Capin looked at the glass in the light and then drained it. “Yeah we did,” he replied. That was all he had.

“We’ll let you know if we find anything.”

“Same here. Thanks, Jenna.”

“Always.” With that last word they closed the connection.

Scott arched his eyebrow as he listened to the conversation. “Interesting. You didn’t tell them what you discovered…”

“Get out of my head, Scott…you lost that right a while ago.”

A look of regret flashed over his face. “Sorry. Old habits die hard.” He leaned against the console. “What’s this situation?”

Jenna gave him a long look of annoya...

No comments In Hard Boiled On March 7, 2018  

“What do you think is going on up there,” Jamie bit her lower lip as she followed Vixen and Tigress into the underground safe room.

“Don’t worry Jamie, the boys have been through worse.”

“Yeah,” Vixen shook her head and gave a wry smile, “but when was the last time the sun was blotted out, Kaye.”

“Ryu and Aaron will be able to handle things just fine,” it sounded like she was trying to convince herself as much as Vivian and Jamie, “we just need to keep moving and take advantage of all the time that the boys can give us.”

The three women finally reached the bottom of the staircase, “Ah, home sweet home,” Vixen said sarcastically as she ran her hand across the table that was in there, and rubbed the dust off her glove.

“Well, luckily Aaron doesn’t have to use this very often...

No comments In Hard Boiled On March 7, 2018  

Capin removed himself from the center of the room as Jaime crouched beside Aaron. Collapsing into the chair he could feel the weariness catching up to him in the weight of his own body. He pinched the bridge of his nose. There was a dull ache stretching back through his skull. All the excitement up until now had managed to assuage the headache. Or at least keep it at bay. He reached into his coat and pulled out his communicator, thumbing it open.

“Jenna…” he answered the familiar beep. The com repeated the name, pausing another few moments as the signal went through its encryption. A few quick rings and her voice came through.

I’m here…

“Our first step in the right direction today.”

I’m sorry?

“Nothing. I’m sorry...

No comments In Hard Boiled On March 7, 2018  

Eddy closed the windowed doors to the balcony. He watched Capin and Bluewolf disappear into the night. He had been honest when he said he’d never asked to be part of a team. It wasn’t even a consideration when he had first started out. Now, Ryu tried to make it out to be the most important thing in the world.

But Ryu didn’t know, or at least didn’t understand. Sure, they’d all lost people. But every loss was different, and no one could ever truly understand what it meant to someone else. Eddy didn’t understand Ryu’s losses. Hell, he didn’t know about the bulk of them… they’d been teammates for a while now and he’d never bothered to ask.

Eddy had chosen to remain an outsider, even among his “friends.” It was a conscious choice, and one he’d wrestled with for some time...