The clock tower looked taller than ever, as I sat on top of a small apartment building four stories below. The sky was sunny and cloudless. I squinted and put my sunglasses on, as I looked up at the giant clock tower.
"What kind of a club takes place in an abandoned clock tower?" I mumbled to myself. I pulled my camera from my bag and started taking square-edge shots of the place. "Cults, that's what kind."
I remembered all of those stories I heard from watching Occult Crimes on Netflix. From the Matamoros cult to a creepy dude who cut out an old lady's heart because he was convinced he was a vampire.
"I swear, if Tori's boyfriend is running a cult out of a clock tower, I am kicking the crap out of him."
"Oh, really?"
I turned to see a girl about my age, her brown hair surrounding a beautiful face, with dark eyes that could burn a rattlesnake. I took a picture of her.
"Hi!" I shouted enthusiastically. "Are you part of Bryan's creepy human sacrifice cult?"
"What are you doing here, Knight?"
"Oh, goody. Bryan told you about me." I took another two photos of her.
"You waited two months, and you just now show up? You know how to do bad surveillance, I'll give you that."
"You're the crazy girl who held the knife to my throat." The girl bowed.
"I'm also the girl who'll beat the crap out of you if you don't get out of here." I put my camera away.
"I'll be happy to leave. As soon as I talk to Bryan."
"Listen, Knight. You look..." The girl looked me up and down. "Twig-like. So I'll give you a chance to get the hell out of here."
"I'm talking to Bryan. So, either take me to him or get out of my way."
The girl flashed out of existence and suddenly stood before me. She cuffed my left wrist in her right hand, pulling back, while her left hand gripped my shirt and flipped me, my form flying above her. My body slammed into the asphalt roof. I swiftly kicked her ankle. She fell to the side, her hand quickly gripping an exhaust pipe.
I stood just as the girl swung a blade near my throat, the edge prickling against my Adam's apple. The girl disappeared and then quickly reappeared behind me. Again the girl swung, but this time I saw it coming. I ducked below the knife swipe and gripped her wrist before pulling her arm behind her back.
The girl disappeared again, her knife clattering against the ground. The girl reappeared in the air, her combat boot pressing against my shoulder blade. She kicked me forward, my forehead slamming against the brick chimney.
I fell to the ground, the girl's laughter ringing out. She pressed something in her ear.
"Bryan, you were right. This one's a fighter. Not a good one. But we can use him." The girl stepped over me.
"Can I get a glass of water?" I groaned.
___
The girl led me into the clock tower by a set of wooden double doors, which she unlocked with a bronze key she wore around her neck. The inside was small and had no floor. The back of the room had a rusted metal staircase leading up.
"How long have you been part of the human sacrifice cult?" I asked as we walked up the rusted thing.
"I'll be asking the questions.."
The girl and I reached the top of the tower, a small yellow door leading into a large room, a platform with a rusted railing going around the top of the room. There were several tables lined with papers, laptops, and odd gadgets.
In the center of it all was someone who could've been Bryan Everdale, but he wasn't. The Bryan Everdale I knew wore sports clothing and hunting gear. His hair was nicely kept and he cared way too much about his appearance. This Bryan Everdale was different. His orange hair was unkempt and scribbly. His clothes were way too big and tattered. His hickory eyes now darkened with inner pain. His chin and the area around his lips had grown stumble. This Bryan Everdale was a shell of a guy. He reminded me of one of the kids I saw hanging out at the Stonewall Street graveyard at night.
"Bryan?"
"Norman. You're here. Finally."
"I am. And you...." Bryan turned to face me. "Look decent."
"Heard you got out of the hospital."
"We both know why I was there."
Bryan started to study something on the table in front of him. Without looking at me, he said, "I'm sorry about that. Really. I just had to make sure."
"Make sure.. what?"
"That you were him. The son of Red Flame and Cold Front." The girl's eyes widened with shock and I stammered.
"What?"
"You don't need to hide it. I've been doing surveillance on your Mom's penthouse. I saw Cold Front fly off your balcony at least fourteen times. She can fly like you."
"What have you been smoking? I can't fly."
"The first time I used my powers there was stuff I didn't remember," said the girl.
"You don't remember when you levitated off the porch deck?" Bryan asked me. "Or when lightning struck you and you got up like it was nothing? Or when you electrocuted Phil and his friend without a taser?"
"I don't have superpowers. I'm normal." My heart was beating too fast.
"You took them down, Norman. I saw you."
"What are you going to do? Blackmail me? No one will believe you."
"Really? Because the past two months when I was following your parents around, did you think I was looking for you? No. I was building evidence." Bryan pulled out a folder, it was fat with papers and files, and photos. He handed it to me and I took it. It was enough evidence to put both my mother and father away for life.
"Okay," I said. "So they will believe you." Bryan looked at me. "Look, I don't have any money."
"It's not money I want."
"Then what?"
"You're a smart guy. As soon as you suspected me as an enemy you did your homework I suspect."
"I did."
"And what did you find?" I look at Bryan a moment before answering.
"You lived in Canada until a few years ago. When you were twelve your older brother went missing. He was presumed dead after his severed hand was found."
"What else?"
"....at first I thought you killed him, but I don't understand why or how a kid of your age and record could kill your older brother."
"First off, he wasn't presumed dead. He is dead."
"You found his body."
"I did. For the entire month after his disappearance, I was looking. The police weren't too keen on finding him, but I was. After looking around a favorite hangout of his I found his body. He was burnt beyond recognition and was missing a hand. I never told anyone. I was afraid they'd think I had done it. They were already looking into me as a suspect. The police found the body on their own and didn't make the correlation between my brother and the body."
"What do you expect from a police officer called a Mountie?"
"My brother was a good guy. He never deserved it. I went looking for the killer."
"And you found them?"
"Yes and no." Bryan walked to a laptop and showed it to me. On it was a map of Québec, Canada. The map was displayed in yellow and had red and blue dots all over. There were more red dots than blue.
"The red dots are murders I know were committed by the same guy that killed my brother. The blue dots are murders I suspect were committed by him. My brother was the last one killed in Québec. More murders like this appeared in Toronto then finally moved to New York. The murders died down for a little bit then restarted two months ago."
"Wait," I said. "You think the Chronicle is responsible for your brother's death?"
"I do."
"So where do I fit into this? Why did you bring me here?"
"When I moved to New York the villain, Cold Front, and the superhero, Red Flame, were knocking down buildings. I knew they wouldn't work with me. But a relative would. Someone with their abilities. So I did some digging. And I found you. I also found the only two kids you hung out with. Darwin and Tori." Anger prickled in my chest.
"That's why you started dating Tori. To get to me."
"It's... not something I'm proud of."
"You're a horrible person."
"Darwin is like a brother to you. Imagine if he, or Tori, or your Dad or Mom was..."
"Don't you dare bring them into this." I pointed to the young woman. "Where does G.I. Jessie fit into this?"
"She lost someone to the Chronicle too." The girl looked like she wanted to hurt Bryan. "We need your help to find him."
"Not to sound like a broken record, but why me?"
"Because you're smart, determined and you have incredible abilities. Also, your mother is a supervillain and your dad is a superhero. You have access to information that no one else does. In return, we can help you control your abilities. You can help your city, stop a killer, get justice, and become a hero. So what do you say?"
"No."