Aftermath (a BH6 crossover)

Chapter Seventy Seven: With Me

Jack hadn't expected the call from Hiro but, hearing the teen's tone, didn't feel he could ignore it. And, once he filtered through all of the data, it made sense. The bombs had all been a smoke screen for the real target, money. Using his radio, he called up several emergency responders, those he knew he could trust, to meet him at the Federal Reserve. He even put in a call to Detective Decker and Tony Stark, knowing full well the super hero would likely beat him there.

Despite all of his communications to the various groups, Jack wasn't as far out as he'd thought. And, with sirens blazing, and the streets mostly clear, he made good time. It helped that the car he'd borrowed didn't have a governor on the speedometer. So, he entered the parking lot of the Federal Reserve on squealing tires, leaving a line of black rubber as proof of his haste. Something in Hiro's voice had told him he'd prefer to have a buffer to Tony's potential wrath.

Throwing the car door open, Jack made his way down to the loading dock, mildly surprised to see a few dark SUVs parked there as if waiting for something. He checked his step as Maze caught his eye. She stood in the open doorway to the area behind the loading area. He had to resist the urge to swallow hard, shaking off the sensation of goose bumps going up and down his spine. The things that woman could do to him.... He shuddered.

"Calvary's here," Maze announced, loud enough for him to hear before casually pushing away from the door frame and heading into the building.

From somewhere in the distance, the sound of sirens filled the air, growing closer and closer. Not wanting to wait, Jack picked up his step and all but hurdles the steps leading up to the actual loading area. He had enough time to notice someone had propped the door open and thought to question it but discarded the idea. If Maze was guarding the door, chances were good no one who shouldn't be there would get past her.

Inside the actual back area, Jack paused once more. This time Lucifer leaned against the grated door leading back behind the cages, cleaning his nails. "It's about time," the devil stated as he moved so Jack could see past him.

Hiro and his team had managed to find a few chairs, though nowhere near enough for all of them. GoGo got one, while Kally and Hiro got the others. Baymax stood nearby, monitoring the situation. Samuel Jackson, aka Loki, stood near Hiro, arms crossed over his chest. And Fred had a protective arm draped over GoGo's shoulders as he stood off to one side of her. There seemed to be a pile of men, tied up, in one corner, and several guards in the opposite corner. The second and third groups were all unconscious or dead.

Jack had to take a moment to take it all in. During the entire span of time it took him to process no one said anything. "It looks like you.... Took care of things," he finally stated, sounding a bit like his throat was dry.

"I wish we could say we completely stopped them," Hiro spoke up. "They managed to kill the manager and got away with all of the banking data before we could stop them. They've totally wiped the drives too."

While it was definitely good they hadn't gotten the liquid cash, knowing the crypto currency, and access to potentially millions of digital funds didn't sit well. Whoever these guys were, they had just set themselves up for life, unless they could do something about it. Jack's stomach seemed to turn over at the prospect.

"What happened here?"

Tony's voice filled the air like a drill sergeant. His shadow filled the doorway to the loading dock, armor dinged and marred with who knew what from his adventures that day.

Once more, Lucifer was the first visible person, Maze having gone into the shadows near the door. "It's about time you got here," he devil said in his usual manner. "I do hope we'll see more than just you and Jack. As things stand, we might need a hearse or two."