Chapter 4 - IV. | Embolden thy steeled heart... (1/2)

Hector shifted at his desk. 'Uh... okay... So what do I do?'

'Hmm.'

'Garovel?'

'I'm thinking. He looks perfectly healthy, so it's probably not illness. I can see the aura around him--Officer Mallory, by the way--but the danger doesn't seem to be immediate. He IS in the middle of a police station, after all. I suspect the exact nature of the threat won't become apparent until he leaves the building.

'You want me go to the police station right now?'

'It looks like his shift doesn't end for a few hours. You have time. Head down here after school.'

'Are you sure...? I mean, it's a man's life at stake... and I really don't mind skipping class...'

'I'll let you know if the situation changes. In the mean time, you should probably take steps to conceal your identity. If you end up having to take a bullet for this man, it'd be best if he doesn't see your face when you shrug it off.'

'O-okay, but... I don't exactly have a mask or... anything...'

'Figure it out. Borrow something from a store along the way, if you have to.'

'I don't think that's borrowing...'

'If you can't find a mask in time, then. Well. You're just going to have to risk it. Obviously, concealing your identity is not more important than a person's life.'

Hector paused a moment, and then quietly sighed. 'I... think I know where I can borrow one...'

'Splendid.'

'It, uh, it might look really weird, though...'

'Oh. Well. Forget it, then. We can't have you looking weird.'

'You don't have to be mean...'

'It's tough love, Hector. Tough love.'

A few minutes before the final bell, he slipped out of class. He could hear the instructor hollering at him for leaving early but ignored it and made his way down to the bas.e.m.e.nt level. He was hoping he could get into the carpentry room before any of the club members arrived, but he ended up waiting for its last class to empty. He took to the corner, trying to be invisible, which was surprisingly easy with so many students, and when he spotted the welding mask that someone had yet to return to the storage rack, he gathered himself and reached out. He grabbed it, but so did someone else.

”Hey, what the--? Let go--Hector?”

Hector cringed, realizing it was Lance Alexander, treasurer of the carpentry club and one of the people he'd been trying to avoid.

”What are you doing here, Hector? Don't tell me you want to rejoin the club.”

”No,” he said, pulling the mask away from Lance. ”I just... need to borrow this for a while.”

”No one's allowed to take the equipment out of the classroom.”

”I'll bring it back.”

”That's not the problem.” Lance was bigger than Hector, bigger than most people, and no small measure of intimidating, but at that moment, Hector had every reason in the world to not give a damn about what he had to say.

”Report me, then.” He fled without waiting for Lance's response.

Hector knew Lance wasn't a bad guy. He knew Lance was just following the rules, and he knew that this would probably earn him detention for a week or two, but he didn't see a way around it. Perhaps the drama club had masks he could borrow, but he didn't actually know where the drama club met; and seeing as the school didn't even have its own auditorium, he figured it wouldn't be an easy place to reach.

He stuffed the black welding mask into his bag and left the campus on foot. He asked Garovel for directions and received them, discovering it was no short journey; but in time, he arrived and the reaper met up with him on the street corner in front of the station.

Hector took a seat on a wood-and-stone bench. 'So, uh... have you learned anything else about him?'

'He doesn't get along with his partner or any of his fellow officers here. Everyone seems to think he's an asshole.'

'Is he?'

'Maybe. I've only known him since this afternoon.'

'I guess it doesn't matter much...'

'He appears to have a daughter. Unlike him, she's a brunette and wears glasses. She looks very young, though the photo on his desk could be several years old by now. No information on the mother, yet.'

'Wow... you're observant...'

'You're easily impressed. It's not much to go on. Mallory doesn't seem to have an active case, at the moment. I only saw him doing follow-up paperwork, but I did discover that he's scheduled to appear in court in a few days.'

'For what?'

'Not sure, but there aren't many things that cops go to court for. If he were being prosecuted for something serious, I doubt he would still be allowed to come to work. Could be they just bumped him off active duty, but I'd guess he's appearing as an expert witness.'

'So... someone wants to kill him before he testifies?'

'Seems likely. But then, killing a cop right before his court date isn't exactly easy to cover up. If I'm right, then someone's either very stupid or...'

'Very influential.'

'Yeah.' Garovel looked at Hector and smirked. 'Heh.'

'What're you smiling about?'

'Y'know, for someone dumb enough to kill himself, you're smarter than I thought.'

Hector's face went flat. 'F.u.c.k you, too, Skeletor.'

Garovel just laughed. 'How's the soreness, by the way?'

He groaned a little. 'Incredibly painful... but... I'm starting to get used to it... I guess.'

'It'll probably get a lot worse after today.'

”Ugh...”

They both spotted a police car exiting the station's side garage, a uniformed officer in the driver's seat.

'There he is,' said Garovel, clutching Hector's shoulder. 'Get ready. I'll follow him and give you directions. When I tell you, start running as fast as you can.'

Hector felt a blaze of vigor run through him. The soreness vanished, and he breathed deep. ”Whoa...!” He could feel his muscles pulsing, his blood rushing, and a surge of so much energy that he thought he might go insane if he didn't expel it.

'You might not need it, but put your mask on just in case. And make sure you don't run into anyone. That's more important than catching up to us.'

He slid the welding mask over his face. He had to pull up the small, black visor in order to see at all. The rectangular slit of glass bore a few scratches but not enough to obstruct his vision.

The police car was pulling away. Garovel flew after it, and Hector waited. They fell out of sight, and he kept waiting. Passersby gave him uncomfortable looks as he stood there in his mask, trembling with anticipation.

'Move straight ahead five blocks and turn right. Tell me when you've reached it.'

Hector bolted forward. His legs bounded over the pavement with more force than he expected, but he could tell that he wasn't even breaching his potential yet. He broadly weaved between pedestrians, still picking up momentum, but when he saw an intersection full of passing vehicles, he realized he wouldn't be able to stop in time. So he didn't. He ran into traffic. A white town car blared its horn at him as he leapt clear over its roof and landed still running down the sidewalk.

It was so easy to run, as if it required no effort, as if it was more natural to run than to walk. Someone stepped out from a shop in front of him, and he swiped past the flaps of their coat. He slowed down a little to ensure he had control, and when the turn came up, he went right.

'I reached the turn,' he told Garovel.

'Keep going straight until you see the ramp onto the highway and take it.'

People were becoming a blur, so he slowed his pace again. A crowd filled the sidewalk up ahead. Hector could see himself nearly keeping pace with the cars, so he ran into the street. Striding the white lines between lanes and not feeling winded in the slightest, he couldn't help laughing inside his mask as he searched for a road speed sign. He saw one that said ”40 km/h.”

Once he boarded the highway, however, the cars began speeding past him again. He pushed his legs as hard as he could, and he was sure that he was running much faster than he had been previously, but the cars still roared by, and he stuck to the shoulder of the road. The next sign he saw said ”110 km/h.”

Still, after what must have been at least half an hour of running, he exited the highway, per Garovel's instructions, and found himself breathing heavily but not gasping. He figured his blood still needed all the extra air, but his muscles didn't hurt or feel tired in the slightest.

He soon arrived in a quieter neighborhood. He could see the police car parked in a driveway up the street. When he saw the reaper approaching, he slowed to a walk.

”How fast--” He paused to slide his mask off his face. ”--Exactly how fast am I, anyway?” As he stood still, he could feel his own heart pounding faster than it ever had in his entire life.

Garovel shrugged. 'How fast can your body run without tearing itself apart?'

He scratched his head and returned with a wet hand. He wiped the sweat on his shirt, but it was similarly soaked. He wiped it on his pants instead.

'Officer Mallory is in his house. You should keep your distance until--' Garovel stopped when they both saw a black van pull up in front of the house. Five men stepped out. Two started for the front door, three circled around back. 'You'd better put your mask back on.'

'Right.'

Dashing up to the house, he saw them knocking on the door.

'Deal with the ones in the back first.'

'Okay.'

He snuck along the neighbor's fence and leapt over into the backyard. The three of them noticed him immediately and stiffened their postures, hands in their coats.