"You know what?" Mia steps closer to Zander. "No, I think I'd rather go with him."
Night Watch's brows raise. "What?"
Zander looks surprised, too. He didn't actually think that Mia would comply. He looks at Night Watch. The hero shrugs.
Zander clears his throat and looks at Mia. "Okay, um...follow me, then."
He lets go of Mia and allows her to follow him to his car. It's a small truck with green, peeling paint. Mia expected something black and sleek, but the truck is suitable. He opens the passenger seat door for Mia. She slips in. Empty cans of energy drinks litter the bottom of his car. She also sees a couple of packages of opened chips and other snacks. It's messy, but it's not unbearable.
Zander hops into the driver's seat and starts the car. Night Watch is still standing where Mia and Zander had left him. He must still be surprised as to what had happened. Mia is fairly unsure about her choice, too. It's certainly a twist that no one expected.
"So, are you Night Watch's nemesis or something?" Mia asks. With an arched brow, Zander nods. "I thought that was the Malice."
"I am the Malice," he says. "I just don't like wearing my suit in the middle of the day."
Mia's brows raise in surprise. He is the Malice? Zander doesn't seem like someone who would be Night Watch's arch-nemesis. Though he's built fairly well, Mia always envisioned him to be larger and bulkier. Though, now that she has seen Night Watch, she imagined the hero to be stronger, too. They're both just two regular-looking guys.
The car ride is silent. Zander seems to be uncomfortable with Mia there. He didn't think that his plan would work. Now he has to go through with it. This could be a good thing, though...he can get that break he told Mia about.
His "mysterious" lair that everyone has always looked for, the Malice's infamous and secret hideout, is actually just a small house hidden within a crowd of trees. Mia guesses that the only reason no one has assumed this is his lair is because of how incredibly mundane it looks.
Zander helps Mia out of the truck and into the house. Inside, there is a small kitchen to the right and a cozy living room with a TV and a two-person couch straight ahead.
"Have a seat." Zander points to the couch. Mia reluctantly sits. The villain goes to his kitchen and makes two cups of coffee. He hands Mia a mug. "Black. I assume you like it that way."
She gives him a smile as a thanks. She takes a sip of the coffee. Somehow, it tastes better than the one she got from the coffee shop. Zander comes over with his own cup. He sits down on the couch, trying to give Mia enough space. She scoots further towards the arm of the couch.
The awkwardness of the situation settles in. It's like an event where a person no one wanted invited comes, anyway. Mia finishes her entire cup of coffee. Silently, Zander extends his hand to take her empty mug. Mia hands it to him. He heads back into the kitchen and places both empty cups in the sink.
When he comes back, Mia decides that she should probably spark a conversation because he obviously isn't going to. "So..." A great start. "How am I supposed to help you with your 'so-needed break?'"
"Well," Zander looks up at the ceiling as if he'll find the words he's looking for up there, "from the information I got, someone close to Night Watch supposedly goes to Serene Caffeine every day at 6:00 AM and orders a black coffee. So I assumed it was you. But Carson—I mean, Night Watch—seemed to not know you, so I guess I was wrong."
"I mean, a lot of people drink black coffee."
"Yeah, but do you go to a coffee shop just for that? May as well make it at home."
Well, that's true. Mia could have made coffee at home. But she didn't, and now she is sitting in the living room of a supposedly fearful villain. Funny how things work out, huh?
Mia suddenly wishes she still had the coffee mug. At least then she could have something to fiddle with while she's waiting. This is so awkward.
"In around four hours Night Watch will probably show up. I'll bring you down to the main lair 'cause that's where he usually shows up and then you can go home. Just so you know," Zander says.
She nods. She silently takes a moment to look at the villain. He has piercings in his ears and a few tattoos lining his arms, but they don't make him look intimidating. Mia doesn't feel scared. Though at first he did, now he doesn't seem like anything but a normal guy. She wonders how he can possibly be the Malice.
Now that she's thinking about it, Mia doesn't know why everyone is so afraid of him. He hasn't destroyed any cities, and he hasn't killed anyone. There are surely things that the news has kept from the people, but has he done something that extreme?
Zander raises a brow. Mia turns, blushing, realizing that she has been staring at him for a while. "Do you want to watch something? We're going to be here for a while. I have Netflix, so we can watch whatever."
That surprises Mia. For some reason, she assumed that villains didn't have time to watch movies or shows. "Well, I haven't watched the second season of Stranger Things yet."
He slightly smiles and grabs the remote. After three episodes, Mia can tell that Zander is a huge Stranger Things fan. He mutters a few lines under his breath and occasionally tells Mia obscure facts about the show. At one point she stops paying attention to the show and instead listens to him. She doesn't know what it is, but there's something intriguing about the man. He has debunked all of her assumptions about him in the little time that they have been together.
After a couple more episodes, Zander goes back to the kitchen to make lunch. He throws together two turkey sandwiches. Though simple, Mia is more than happy to eat it.
"Is this what you do every day?" she asks him. "Just watch shows and wait for Night Watch to come?"
Zander shakes his head. "I have a day job. I just took the day off to focus on this."
A day job? "I thought that being a villain was, well, full time."
"Doesn't pay the bills. And it definitely doesn't pay for the mess I have to fix after any encounter with Night Watch."
Apparently (Mia now understands after a little explaining) Night Watch and Zander both pitch in to fix any damages that occur. Mia finds this to be an incredibly generous thing for a villain to do. If New York villains—or even heroes—helped fix the cities, then the state would look way better than it does.
Eventually, their conversation goes from hero and villain logistics to random topics. They talk about their hobbies, past pets (and current—Zander insists on seeing Benjamin one day), and their high school days. At some point, Zander slips that "I went to high school with Carson—I mean, Night Watch. We were close friends."
"Really?"
"Yeah, he was a new kid our junior year. I was the first person to talk to him. I was also the first person who knew that Night Watch wanted to be a hero."
Mia is amazed by this information. She doesn't know why, but she had thought that Zander and Night Watch had met as hero and villain, not sooner. "So what happened? Why are you guys enemies?"
Zander took a moment to think. He turns down the volume on Stranger Things, which has been playing throughout their entire conversation. "Well, I don't think we ever were enemies. I helped Carson get his name out by faking a robbery for him to 'save the day.'" He does air quotes with his fingers. "I was only going to help him once, but then he started asking over and over again for me to fake more and more crimes. He didn't have a villain and couldn't be a hero without one. Even now if I don't plot a scheme in two weeks' time, he'll call me and ask when I'm planning my next one."
He sighs. "It never ends. I just want to retire from this Malice thing, but Carson won't let me. I think that if I defeat him one day, he'll finally let this end."
Mia stares at the man, perplexed. She is seeing him in an entirely new light. Zander isn't a bad guy. He just wanted to help his friend become successful and it went too far. He wants a normal life like anyone else, but his friend won't let him.
"This...is the first time I'm telling anyone this." He smiles warmly at Mia. "It...feels good to talk about. Thank you."
She places her hand on top of his. She smiles back. The room doesn't feel as tense as it had earlier. Mia feels like she's sitting next to an old friend instead of someone she just met that day. Mia believes that she could tell him anything and it would be kept between them. She's safe.
Then, a thought pops in her mind. "What plan did you have? To destroy Night Watch?"
Zander is quiet. He ponders the question. Chills crawl up Mia's spine. Is it so bad that he can't tell her?
"I'm not planning to destroy him," he finally says, "just his reputation. I was going to lure and trap him, then expose him whining about it—he always whines if he doesn't win right away. Then I was going to record it or something." Zander shrugs. He clearly doesn't have it fully figured out.
It doesn't seem like a bad idea, but Mia isn't sure if she's fond of it. It would be better if Zander and Night Watch departed silently. Night Watch makes people feel safe while they're sleeping. He fights off more than just Zander. Making him hide out of embarrassment wouldn't benefit anyone but him.
Zander finally says that Night Watch is coming. He leads her to an elevator—which is odd to have in a house—that goes down to his lair. His lair is crowded with computers and random boxes labeled "outfits" and "old gadgets." It's a poorly lit room with heavy air conditioning. Though not foreboding, the room contrasts with the warmth and comfort Mia felt on the ground floor. Zander motions to a wooden chair set in the center of the mess. Mia sits.
Zander leaves to put his villain outfit on. Mia waits alone, hugging herself tightly. It's freezing in the room. She doesn't know how someone could stand being in this room for longer than a few minutes.
She looks at a wall filled with images. There are newspaper articles framed on the wall, each one with a headline on a crime that Zander has done. He has robbed banks, held a plane of people hostage, tried to sabotage the governor's election, and more. Mia shivers, more from fear than the cold. He has done much more than Mia thought. On the bottom corner, nearly touching the ground, there's a small frame. The headline is simple: "NIGHT WATCH'S SISTER KIDNAPPED—BY WHO?"
Mia walks over and reads the article. It's from a few years ago. It says that Night Watch's sister was taken in the middle of the night one day and never found. Night Watch has been searching for her for years without luck. Mia has heard about this on the news before. His sister's name is Anna. She worked as a grocery bagger at a Target. She was still in college, studying environmental science. From what Mia knows, she still hasn't been found.
Mia's hands shake. Was Anna's disappearance Zander's doing? Is he really as innocent as he has been saying?
A noise is made from behind Mia. She turns to see one of the walls opening to reveal Night Watch. He rolls in and jumps upright, placing his knuckles on his hips. He scans the room and finally sees Mia. His eyes brighten with recognition.
"I'm glad that you're okay," he tells Mia. "Come, we must go before the Malice returns."
Night Watch grabs Mia's hand and drags her towards the way he had entered. She can't help but look back. Zander is standing there, watching silently. He's wearing a black jacket and jeans and wearing a black mask that covers his entire face. At first, it pains Mia to walk away from Zander. Then she remembers Anna. Fear replaces her guilt. She could have been in the same place as Anna was. Mia could have been falling for the same trick he played on her.
"Please, before you go," Zander says. Night Watch stops. Mia turns. Zander takes his mask off and looks at her, smiling a closed-lip smile. It seems genuine. "Thank you for today, Mia. You're the first person to give me a chance in a long time."
Mia's chest tightens. Either he's telling the truth or he's a great liar.
Night Watch starts walking again. "You have to go. He's trying to distract you."
"Are you not coming with me?" Mia asks.
He shakes his head. "I need to deal with him. Make sure he knows not to kidnap another person."
Another person. She swallows the lump in her throat. It would be best for her to leave this all behind her. This has always been Night Watch and Zander's problem, and today hasn't changed that.
Does Mia have to go, though? There has to be an explanation for that article on the wall. Zander has shown no reason to lie to Mia. She could at least give him a chance to explain himself. She had the best day of her life today. It's been interesting, fun, and refreshing. It has been a break from her regular life. That's all thanks to Zander.
What should I do?
Leave with Night Watch ... Chapter 10
Stay with Zander ... Chapter 11