Brass Ring Chapter 16: When Brothers Do Things Together

Psyborg entered the lab. Don Pelegrine waved him over, so he walked over to the mob boss. “So the meeting went according to plan?”

Psyborg smiled. “Yep. He knows we want to kill him, but I’ve managed to convince him that I’m just going to nick him and make it look convincing.”

Don Pelegrine returned the smile. “Outstanding work.” He let the smile fade. “Would be hard to get information on any others he’s managed to recruit?”

Psyborg shrugged. “Probably a little problematic, but possible. Give me a moment to test the permeter.” Psyborg closed his eyes for a minute or two. The don looked on expectantly. Then Psyborg opened his eyes. “Okay, I found a low-sec terminal. He’s managed to recruit some college friends of his, a choir girl, and a veteran hero. Someone named ‘Blue Shift.’ Would you like a tactical analysis?”

The don exhaled. “Blue Shift could be the biggest problem. Worse if his boyfriend gets involved. But please: An analysis would be welcome.”

Psyborg nodded. “Okay. His girlfriend is in armor, a pretty decent suit but definitely a first-gen effort. He has one martial artist who can summon swords and armor, and his best friend transforms into a physical powerhouse. The choir girl has the same powerset as The Yeth, so that simplifies matters. Blus Shift is a speedster, but one of the faster ones. The Yeth should be able to deal with choir girl, and I can keep Blue Shift busy with a range of distractions. If Kung can hold off the armor for a minute or so, and Twid can do the same with the martial artist, then Valkyr can take down the shifter. Once he’s down, we just clean up the rest. Blue Shift will still be difficult, but between or various area of effect and precision attacks, it is theoretically doable.”

Don Peregrine’s smile returned. “Good to hear. Then we just need to eliminate your brother. That should either cause a morale issue or them to be so angry that they make mistakes.”

Psyborg shrugged. “Pretty much.” His lips pursed for a moment. “How bad is the boyfriend?”

Don Pelegrine frowned. “He’s a martial artist in his own right. Give him a sword and he’s practically unbeatable.”

“So let’s take him off the board while giving Blue Shift a major distraction.” Pysborg thought for a moment. “Okay, this is easy. Let’s get the Brothers Boom to kidnap him and then see what his boyfriend does.”

The don smiled. “Sounds like a plan.”

Psyborg shouted to the Brothers Boom. “Hey, you two! We have a mission for you!”

The two looked at each other, grinned, then walked with purpose to Psyborg. The Yeth spoke first. “We were looking for something to do.”

Twid broke in. “What are we doing?”

Psyborg gave them directions to where Bruno worked, details on his swordsmanship, and suggestions for how they could take him down. The two smiled and virtually ran off to deal with their assignment. He waved to Valkyr. “Meanwhile, I have my appointed.” The don nodded. Psyborg walked to the exit. Valkyr, sensing death was imminent, fell in and followed Psyborg out, smiling.

On the way out, Psyborg texted Oliver.

Psyborg: On the way. Better be ready.

Oliver: We’re ready.

Psyborg: Good.

The two mounted a jeep and were on their way to kill someone.

* * * * *

Oliver and Cass walked into Telemachus' room; Oliver was carrying a laptop.

Cass poked Oliver. “You picked that lock just a little too easily.”

He smiled back. “It was all that practice on the school labs.” He flicked on the lights. “Okay, we’re looking for anything electronic, such a s computer. Even a USB drive works.” She nodded, and they started looking around. He pressed a button on his phone. “Imago, where was Telemachus found?”

“He was found on the couch. Several shots through his chest.i”

“Thanks.” He nods at Cass, who nods back.

She searched the couch. After removing a cushion, she saw a USB drive. “Found it.” She tossed the USB drive to Oliver. He caught it and turned on his laptop. He then put the drive into his laptop.

He opened the drive and found all sorts of files, including one marked “READ ME FIRST”. Virtually every enhanced being in Overton had a file. He opened the file and it was a picture of Telemachus on his couch. The text under it read, “Figure out the angle.” Oliver cocked his head. “Interesting.” He then moved his laptop until he found out from which angle the picture had been taken. He then looked behind him and smiled. “Okay.” He pulled out a camera and then tracked the cabling down until he hit a hard drive. Oliver then connected the hard drive to his laptop. He looked at Cass. “Well, we have evidence of who killed Telemachus.”

Cass smiled. “Good news.”

“Yep.” He emailed the file to Imago. “Imago, analyze the footage and let me know who the people in the footage are.”

“Understood and will comply.”

They hear a knock. “May I come in?”

They look at the door and see Blue Shift. Oliver nods. “Certainly. We just found out who killed Telemachus. Sort of. We sent the footage to Imago to figure it out.”

Blue Shift nodded. “Good.” He looked at the room. “Anything else?”

“Let me open this ‘OPEN ME NEXT’ file.” Oliver opened the file. Inside were schematics for a laser, a few pictures of Kung, and a list of components and where to find them. “There’s a list of components for a laser, and they’re the same as what was taken over the last few days.” Oliver looks at the specifications of the laser. “Huh.”

Cass looks concerned. “I don’t like the sound of that ‘huh.’ I take it’s not good news?”

Oliver looked at her. “The laser has enough power to melt a brick wall.”

Blue Shift looks at the data. “Specifically, a bank wall. Followed by a bank vault.”

They both look at the senior super. Oliver reacts first. “Why would you say a bank?”

Blue Shift looks at Oliver. “It makes sense. We’re dealing with someone who unleashed the Telemachus Ultimatum to cover something, distracting all of the local capes. He didn’t look for any files, he just wanted them released. He’s been building a laser powerful enough to melt something big. That implies the target is local; he could get in and get whatever he wanted with no problem but it needs to be enough of a challenge to need the laser. So I’m guessing a big bank.” He exhaled. “That means one of three banks.”

Oliver closed his laptop. “Okay, get back to the HQ and tell everyone what we found.”

Blue Shift tensed to go, then relaxed. “Wait a sec. Why not tell them yourself?”

Oliver’s eyes rolled. “We have a stop to make on the way.”

Blue shift nodded. “Understood.” He ran off, leaving his characteristic blur behind.

Cass grinned. “C’mon. Let’s go see a man about an aquarium.”

They left, turning off the lights and locking the door.

* * * * *

Bruno exhaled as he put the paper into his outbox. That has got to be the hundredth form today. He grabbed his coffee mug, the one with “Best Assistant Mayor” on it, and sipped. Sensing something was wrong, he looked into the cup and noticed there was nothing in it. He got up to get another cup. The machine was just on the other side of the room. Rank hath its privileges.

The doors to his office flew open. He turned to see what happened. The Yeth walked in. Bruno looked around for some sort of weapon. The Yeth screamed. It hit Bruno full force. He flew into a wall. He fell to the floor, unconscious. Twid walked in and confirmed that he was unconscious. The Yeth looked around for his phone, found it, and tossed it to Twid, who caught it and pocketed it. The two dragged him out of the office.

Twid smiled. “I was expecting tougher, to be honest.”

The Yeth smiled in turn. “Sometimes Fate smiles on ye.”

The Brothers Boom reached their van and shoved him into it. Liam got behind the wheel while Sean grabbed his phone. He pressed a few buttons. “Okay, we have him. Heading home.” He received his recognition and then hung up. He mounted the van and then pulled out Bruno’s phone. He used the unconscious captive’s finger to unlock the phone and quickly looked for Paul’s number. He hit the button as he pulled on his seatbelt. The Yeth started driving.

Paul answered. “Hello, lover. You don’t usually call me this early.”

Twid smiled. “Not yet your lover, but, like you said, the day is early.”

Paul’s timbre changed. “Who is this?”

Twid exhaled. “That doesn’t matter. What does is that we’ve taken your boyfriend and our holding him hostage. There’s a fight coming up and you won’t be in it. If you are, you’ll be needing to find another boyfriend.”

Paul whispered. “You had best not do anything to him.”

Twid smiled. “We don’t plan on it, unless you do something to encourage it. In which case, you’ll find him in the jelly aisle.” He hung up and opened up the casing, removing the battery before putting it back together and putting both into a pocket.

The brothers did a quick high five and smiled at each other. The Yeth accelerated.

* * * * *

Oliver and Cass walked into the aquarium; both were in full costume. They walked down some stairs and into a space designed so that an observer could see the entire building. They approached a man in a trenchcoat. He turned around, revealing himself o be Psyborg. Psyborg pointed out several cameras and smiled; Oliver nodded. “Let’s do this.”

“Okay.” Psyborg pointed at Cass. “Valkyr, kill!”

Valkyr charged, lightning following in her wake. Cass fired an energy blast at her; it barely slowed her down. Valkyr punched Cass; Cass flew for a good twenty yards. Valkyr roared and then charged at her again; Cass rolled to her feet. When Valkyr swung at her, Cass turned invisible and Valkyr punched air. Cass popped in and hit Valkry with another blast; Valkyr was sent into the water.

Oliver glared at Psyborg. “This is not what we agreed to.”

Psyborg smiled as he tossed a disk at Oliver. “Oh, I know. But it does make things easier.”

Oliver dodged it but the disk attached itself to the wall behind him. “I only hope you’re being paid well enough.” The disk lit up.

Psyborg pulled out the remote switch and pressed down. “They are.”

The disk blew up, sending Oliver into an opposite wall. His form rag-dolled and fell to the ground. Cass went down to her knees and then struggled to get back up. Valkyr flew out of the water, but Psyborg motioned for her to stand down; she just sneered at Cass, then jumped and landed near Psyborg. The two walk off.

As they disappeared into the shadows, Cass teleported to Oliver’s unmoving form. She grabbed Oliver's unmoving form. “You had best be just sleeping. She teleported away.

* * * * *

Bruno woke. He started stretching, but his left arm didn't move all the way. He looked at it; he was chained to wall. He found he was shirtless.

The Yeth walked in. “You’re awake. Good.”

Bruno glared at him. “I assume I’m being held hostage so the Blue Shift won’t attack you.”

The Yeth smiled. “Good, you’re smart.”

“Not my first kidnapping.”

“Good to hear.” He put a tray with some donuts and a full water bottle within Bruno’s reach while staying out of it himself. “We’re expecting a major fight in the next few hours and your boyfriend is likely to be one of the combatants.”

“Thanks for the water.”

“Welcome. No need to be inhospitable. As long as you stay here and your boyfriend doesn’t engage, we’re good. If he does…” The Yeth pulled a finger across his throat. “Well, we’ll try to make it quick.”

“Again, thanks.”

The Yeth nodded and departed. Bruno smiled to himself. This should be fun to get out of.

[The next chapter can be found here.]