Red Alert/Red Notice (The "Super Jerk" Prequel)

29 - Bullet Proof...I Wish I Was

^^Above, chapter title credit: Song by Radiohead.^^

{Geoffrey}

I can almost feel Ridley's rage before I see it. He spins on his heel the second the headline comes on the news, and I don't see him leave the room – only the door swinging shut behind him. I take a second and look around for Raina. But my need to go after Ridley is greater. I convince myself that she'll be fine and plow after him.

I make it to the street and lose him. I try to calm my breathing as I spin around in one circle, and then another. But I know if we don't catch him, he'll blow up and cause even more of a problem.

"Geoff?"

I turn towards the revolving door. Eckles is emerging, his short dark hair sticking up in every direction. He looks like he's been running his fingers through it. In agitation, maybe, or anger.

"Hey, Howard," I answer, knowing I have to put aside the differences between us, just for tonight.

"What's goin' on? You left so fast I could barely catch you."

"Ridley. He's on the warpath."

Eckles nods, and then grasps my shoulder. "Tell you what. You go find him, but don't make any sudden moves 'til you got backup."

"Backup?" I echo, knowing I sound slow. "You'll send some?"

"Yeah, 'course. Wouldn't want your wife to lose her husband now, would we?"

"I'm surprised you even thought of that."

He shrugs. "My cousin's in the business of hurting people. I've had a lot of time to think about it."

≈

When he's gone, I have to run across the street, to a dark alleyway, and pull out the ball that contains my suit. I toss it on the ground, and while it unfolds I begin to strip down to my underwear. Then I climb inside it, ball up my clothes, and toss them into a dumpster. Quickly I scale the fire escape and crouch down once I get to the roof. I let my super-sense calibrate, but with all the distractions around me it takes longer. At one point I'm distracted by Matt, coming out to the street and looking around.

I push off the roof and ascend, so now I have a bird's eye view of the area. My super-sense locks in this time, pulling me uptown. I drift that way, letting it direct me like a compass needle. I have a feeling Ridley's headed towards Salinger's election party venue. He'd rented the entire Guggenheim museum, which makes it much more difficult. Now we're not only trying to stop him, but we also have to try not to damage the art collection either.

Soon I hone in on the museum, lowering myself to the roof by degrees. I can hear cheering and a voice, although it doesn't sound like Salinger's. Once my feet touch ground, I duck down and then poke my head up, watching the front entrance. Knowing Ridley, though, he'd probably get in through the back and ambush everybody that way.

I step off the roof and float down to the ground, right behind a bodyguard. That's when an idea hits me. I grab the back of his jacket and yank him towards me, clamping a hand over his mouth before he can say anything.

"Listen very carefully to what I'm about to say to you," I tell him, and he nods. "Your boss is in danger, and if you want to live to see it, you'll tell him to get the hell out of this building."

Then I release him, melting back into the shadows. I see him walk up to one of his colleagues, his knees knocking, and say something into his ear. The other one nods and turns to speak into the radio attached to his shoulder.

That's when the ground starts rumbling, and suddenly the manhole cover in the middle of the street shoots into the air. I push off the ground and go after it, catching it and tossing it onto the roof of the museum like a Frisbee. Then I look back down just in time to see a slimy black mass emerging, tentacles grabbing onto anything within reach. The journalists and bodyguards assembled nearby begin to panic, stampeding in all directions. I make a beeline for the Blob, shooting three lasers into it. It screeches and falters, but keeps coming.