Daughter of Zeus ✔

4.6

In the bathroom, Ada washed her hands. The sink had an old knob, which she had to turn off and on.

She walked out, and immediately a spark lit up her fingertips. Someone else was in the store. She heard him, but he stayed out of sight. From behind her, hands settled roughly on her arms, trapping her.

"Ya can't go yet, ma'am." He breathed foul air into her ear.

She stood still, not turning to face her attacker. "I don't have much on me."

"Everyone says that. Empty your pockets." The man helped himself to a handful of her ass.

"Hey!" She struggled slightly. "Checkin' for money, ma'am." The sincerity in his voice failed to convince her of his good intentions. "Fucktard. Do you have to hold your gun to my head like that?"

"Sure do."

As she hoped, he dug the gun into her head. When it made complete contact with her skin, she released a flood of electricity which rolled over her body in blue waves, conducting through the metal of the gun. The electrical currents connected with the man's skin, reaching his heart. Throwing back his head, he screamed with no sound. His body dropped to the floor, small twitches jerking his arms and legs.

The movements convinced her the man wasn't dead, but from his rolled back eyes, he wasn't getting up. Ada looked for Kressick near the car, but he wasn't there. The charge on the outlet pole was still red. Her gaze swept left to right, but the parking lot was empty. She wanted to find him before the chowderhead inside woke up, or before the clerk alerted the authorities. She thought about Cybil's daughter, and how "special" citizens were apt to disappear. With her electric talents, she would be a prime State target.

"Come on, Kressick," she muttered.

Instinct urged her to call out to him, but she hesitated. The chowderhead with the gun might not have been working alone.

As though he heard her utter his name, Kressick appeared. He was there so suddenly she couldn't be sure which way he had come. She was disoriented from the adrenaline rush she had gotten from dispelling her powers. A thin sheet of sweat clung to her skin.

"Feel any lighter?"

He leaned against the charge pole, looking like a kid with too many jokes in his back pocket.

"What?"

Was that a bathroom reference? If so, it went over her head.

"You look like you just finished dropping off a few kids at the pool." He leaned in to assess her. "Maybe some adults."

Ick. The crude joke jabbed at her, as it was one August would've made. She changed her mind about telling him about what happened in the store.

"Let's get to the car," she said instead.

She expected to walk effortlessly, but the first step was a wobbly one. Kressick held her up by one arm.

Kressick maintained a light grip on her. "You don't seem well."

"I'm fine."

She wrenched away from him. Ada checked behind them several times. No one emerged from the store, and no new customers pulled up to the pumps.

"Expecting someone?" He glanced around the empty surroundings.

"I'm expecting your old ass to get into my goddamn car," she said, her stride increasing in strength.

"Hello," he said, aiming his greeting at someone behind her.