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“We did!” Dave snarls. “They’d try paying us off, pushing us away… the last straw was when they threatened us.”
“So… we stop him, simple as that!” Deus says, but August looks pale—he doesn’t want to stop him.
“They pushed us away for so long… until last night,” Sue says, looking excited. “After the announcement, Superheroes United reached out to us… They’re going to help stop him. I told them everything about where he’s hiding. We’re finally going to get help.”
“I’m sure Valerie knows by now, then, or maybe she’s who contacted you?” I ask.
“It’s too late,” Dave says.
“What do you mean?” his wife asks, looking confused.
Dave seems to be having trouble looking at her. “Last night… I used my power on you. Superheroes United didn’t call you, they don’t give a shit about you or your pain. It was me. I used my illusions to manipulate you into thinking it was them calling. And then I found him last night. I saw there was a woman living with him and when she left, I took her… and I made him think Chronobender killed her. It’s just a matter of time now before you’re forced to deal with him,” Dave says as he starts laughing. It’s like he’s finally snapped, but the laughter doesn’t sound overly joyous—it sounds pained and manic. “You refused to help for months. I don’t give a shit what happens to any of you. None of you gave a shit what happened to my daughter! Do you know what it feels like to be handed a fuckingcheckto replace your child? Like money could just make me forget what happened to her. She was the sweetest girl. She was so kind and caring and loved everyone and…”
He’s hyperventilating now as he digs his nails into the hardwood floor.
“It should have been me!” he screams. “It should have been me! I was running late… I asked her to go to the store for me. I was fucking running late because I was bullshitting with some idiots about a fucking football game. If I hadn’t been late…” He trails off, looking absolutely defeated. He’s not even struggling against Deus anymore.
August walks over to him before kneeling down in front of him. He sets a hand on the man’s head as his sobs fill the room. “I can’t bring your daughter back. I can’t change the past, and I have no idea about the future… but I’ll stop him. Just… you need to prepare yourself to realize that at the end of the day, whether Alloy is in prison or he’s dead, it’s not going to bring your daughter back. It’s not going to give you the relief you’re needing. After all of the years I’ve worked this job, I’ve found only two things do: time… and being surrounded by the ones you love.”
August stands up and turns to the door. “It won’t be long before Superheroes United figures out the ties you have to this… it might be best that you make sure that doesn’t happen. Maybe starting a new life somewhere far away from here would be best after the mistakes you’ve made. And let that woman go.”
“I’m sorry,” Sue says. “I’m sorry for all the pain we’ve caused you. I’m sorry that things turned out the way they did. I know apologies aren’t enough, and I know grief can make one do unreasonable things… but thank you. They released the footage last night and I finally saw what happened, and I want to thank you for being the only one who ran into that building that day. Who tried their hardest to give the hostages a fighting chance.”
“I’m sorry it wasn’t enough.”
She gives August a sad smile and he turns to the door. “Let’s go. If Alloy is going to be looking for me, we need to…”
His phone rings and he looks down at Valerie’s name. He can’t seem to accept the call, so I pull the phone from his hand and put it on speaker.
“Hey,” I say.
“Don’t let August come here,” she says, voice low. “Please… August… I just care about you too much to lose you.”
“Is Alloy already there?” I ask.
“Keep him away. He’s trying to draw August here. Keep him away.”
“Nah, we’ll be there in ten. Don’t die or I’ll have one less person to torture,” I say.
“I swear to god, none of you assholes listen, do you?”
“No, we don’t. Landon taught me that,” August says as we rush to the car.
“He’s at the front entrance, trying to tear the building apart to get you to come out. Please, August. You have to draw him away from the building. There’s too much metal that he can use against you,” Valerie says. “If that wasn’t bad enough, there are other supers with him. Please be careful.”
“I will,” August says, ending the call.
I quickly call Brandon who thankfully answers right away. “Brandon, I need your help. Can you meet us at the gate outside Superheroes United headquarters? There’s a guy who wants to kill us and I need you to keep that from happening.”
“Of course! I love being helpful!”
“Thank you.”
I end the call and turn to August whose fingers are white as he clutches onto the steering wheel too hard.
“I think I can do this alone,” he says. “I’ll take Brandon because he can’t get hurt. The two of us can do this.”
“August, I promise it’s going to be okay. You’re absolutely not doing this alone.”
