Superhero Universe: Tesseracts Nineteen by David Perlmutter, Brent Nichols, Claude Lalumiere, Mark Shainblum, Chadwick Ginther, Michael Matheson, Mary Pletsch, Jennifer Rahn, Corey Redekop, Bevan Thomas Page A
Authors: David Perlmutter, Brent Nichols, Claude Lalumiere, Mark Shainblum, Chadwick Ginther, Michael Matheson, Mary Pletsch, Jennifer Rahn, Corey Redekop, Bevan Thomas
Ads: Link
stuffed the camouflage outfit into the guitar case and snapped the fasteners shut. All this had taken place in roughly thirty seconds and all to the tune of the strange wail coming from street level.
From the higher roof Gordon concluded he was witnessing the aftermath of a terrible crime. Shooting arrows at pedestrians? Could this be for real? He was stunned.
The young man stood up, guitar case in hand, and was about to pull open the roof-access door when suddenly he stopped. His took a phone from the back pocket of his jeans. He stared at the little screen for a moment then put the guitar case down and typed on his device furiously with both thumbs.
What was there to be done here? Gordon’s mind raced. The two buildings were very close, separated only by a narrow alley. Moving closer to the edge and looking down he saw that the fire-escape stairs of both structures were exactly opposite each other and their landings were level and separated only by a small gap that could be crossed safely. If he got down there quickly then maybe he could get across and back up in time to follow the guy. But here were problems with that plan. Until he got below the level of the neighboring roof he would be exposed to his target. And he always felt intense vertigo going down metal fire-escape stairs because you could see right through them to the ground below.
This is more important than your damn vertigo, he admonished himself. Get over it and get over there!
The young man with the guitar case continued texting, moving away from the light by the entrance to the stairwell and turning his back to Gordon. He had earphones on.
Emboldened, Gordon said a couple of words to his dog and, gritting his teeth, set off down the fire escape stairs as quietly/quickly as he could go. He made too much noise, but his quarry was wrapped up in whatever he was texting and whatever he was listening to. He never looked in Gordon’s direction. In under a minute Gordon was where he wanted to be.
So far, so good.
His tongue poked out of the corner of his mouth in concentration as he carefully crossed between the fire escape landings on the seventh floor. Sprinting back up to the roof level of the lower building, he climbed a small metal ladder to the rim of the roof and slowly brought his eyes over the edge, just in time to see the stairwell door swing shut.
Gordon pulled himself quickly up and ran to where arrow guy had been standing moments ago, and he heard the sound of footsteps on stairs come to an abrupt halt. He stepped into the shadows on the side of the shed, in case his quarry came back. When nothing happened after a couple of minutes, he risked a quick peek into the small window set into the access door. He glimpsed his target standing halfway down the first flight of stairs, still absorbed in typing on his phone with one thumb. Gordon eased back around the side of the small structure and into the shadows, lost in thought. He could still hear the odd keening, but it was fainter now. He went low and quiet to the street side of the roof, slowly getting into position for a peek over the edge. He took off his mask and let it flop down his neck like the hoodie it actually was. If he was spotted he’d prefer to be less memorable. His long blond hair was tied back in a ponytail, and he was overdue for a shave.
Cautiously he looked over the edge and then backed away after a few seconds, digesting what he had seen.
Lying on the sidewalk below was an old man in a three-piece suit with an arrow through his shoulder, surrounded by a small crowd of passersby. There was bright red blood pooling beside him but there wasn’t that much yet, and hopefully help was on the way.
Gordon winced, imaging the pain of a broadhead arrow passing through his body. Who could do that to another human?
A young woman was kneeling by the victim and supporting his head while talking into her phone. Everyone had a phone out. No doubt police and ambulance would be there soon
From the higher roof Gordon concluded he was witnessing the aftermath of a terrible crime. Shooting arrows at pedestrians? Could this be for real? He was stunned.
The young man stood up, guitar case in hand, and was about to pull open the roof-access door when suddenly he stopped. His took a phone from the back pocket of his jeans. He stared at the little screen for a moment then put the guitar case down and typed on his device furiously with both thumbs.
What was there to be done here? Gordon’s mind raced. The two buildings were very close, separated only by a narrow alley. Moving closer to the edge and looking down he saw that the fire-escape stairs of both structures were exactly opposite each other and their landings were level and separated only by a small gap that could be crossed safely. If he got down there quickly then maybe he could get across and back up in time to follow the guy. But here were problems with that plan. Until he got below the level of the neighboring roof he would be exposed to his target. And he always felt intense vertigo going down metal fire-escape stairs because you could see right through them to the ground below.
This is more important than your damn vertigo, he admonished himself. Get over it and get over there!
The young man with the guitar case continued texting, moving away from the light by the entrance to the stairwell and turning his back to Gordon. He had earphones on.
Emboldened, Gordon said a couple of words to his dog and, gritting his teeth, set off down the fire escape stairs as quietly/quickly as he could go. He made too much noise, but his quarry was wrapped up in whatever he was texting and whatever he was listening to. He never looked in Gordon’s direction. In under a minute Gordon was where he wanted to be.
So far, so good.
His tongue poked out of the corner of his mouth in concentration as he carefully crossed between the fire escape landings on the seventh floor. Sprinting back up to the roof level of the lower building, he climbed a small metal ladder to the rim of the roof and slowly brought his eyes over the edge, just in time to see the stairwell door swing shut.
Gordon pulled himself quickly up and ran to where arrow guy had been standing moments ago, and he heard the sound of footsteps on stairs come to an abrupt halt. He stepped into the shadows on the side of the shed, in case his quarry came back. When nothing happened after a couple of minutes, he risked a quick peek into the small window set into the access door. He glimpsed his target standing halfway down the first flight of stairs, still absorbed in typing on his phone with one thumb. Gordon eased back around the side of the small structure and into the shadows, lost in thought. He could still hear the odd keening, but it was fainter now. He went low and quiet to the street side of the roof, slowly getting into position for a peek over the edge. He took off his mask and let it flop down his neck like the hoodie it actually was. If he was spotted he’d prefer to be less memorable. His long blond hair was tied back in a ponytail, and he was overdue for a shave.
Cautiously he looked over the edge and then backed away after a few seconds, digesting what he had seen.
Lying on the sidewalk below was an old man in a three-piece suit with an arrow through his shoulder, surrounded by a small crowd of passersby. There was bright red blood pooling beside him but there wasn’t that much yet, and hopefully help was on the way.
Gordon winced, imaging the pain of a broadhead arrow passing through his body. Who could do that to another human?
A young woman was kneeling by the victim and supporting his head while talking into her phone. Everyone had a phone out. No doubt police and ambulance would be there soon
Similar Books
