Flyover City! A Novel (with Superheroes)

39. Showdown at 5,280 Feet (Part 3)

I squirmed out from under Gwen, supporting myself against the sofa that had tipped over when she threw herself on top of me. I could hear her and Spliff both, shouting for me to "get down", "take cover"... but of course I couldn't. Any more than I could close my eyes in a dream.

For a moment they seemed to just hang there: five silhouettes floating among the twinkling shards of glass, like pieces of a mobile above an infant's crib.

Then, with a thunderclap of boots slamming against the floor - the offices at 1700 Lincoln erupted into a war zone.

Like charmed snakes, Lilywatt's whips lashed out from her hands, wrapping tight coils around their prey. With a snap of her wrists, the sniper's rifles were thrown off their mark, sending a violent stutter of gunfire into the rafters.

The other guards took aim, but they were distracted by the stocky, hairy figure that was walking directly over them, gripping their heads with disturbingly large, prehensile toes. Realizing that Danger Monkey was intending to draw their fire up, two of the guards scoured the room for other targets - but the half-simian avenger leaped at them, drawing their heads together with a dull thud.

The left-flank sniper kept a tenuous grasp on his weapon, struggling against Lilywatt in a game of tug-of-war. She kicked her leg high, catching the middle of her whip with a boot heel. When she brought it down again, the gunman was yanked directly into the path of her fist, his gun flying out of his grasp...

With all the urgency of man waving to a neighbor on the way to his car, Greyraven raised his arm, snatching the rifle from the air. It spun around in his hand only once - but something he did caused the magazine to slide out and drop to the floor. He caught the muzzle-end and charged toward the reinforcements who were bursting out of the stairwell.

The Deacon caught a few stray bullets in the chest, but he kept obidiently to his post. From the console behind him, Vaig shouted, "Control Room...?!"

"The Hyperconverter is now online, Mr. Vaig..." came the response.

Just then, an unconscious guard dropped onto the control panel, tossed there by the Deacon after Danger Monkey had thrown the body at him. DM climbed over the Deacon's body, swinging around his limbs like a jungle gym. He sceeched madly, punching and scratching his face.

Attempting to shove the body aside, Vaig yelled, "Pick up that gun, you idiot!"

From the base of the console - where he had presumably been curled up in the fetal position - Tim stood up, dangling the fallen guard's firearm from his finger.

"Now shoot somebody!" Vaig yelled.

Tim blanched, dropping the gun like it was something that could be used to kill somebody.

Stray bullets were flying just overhead, but I couldn't turn away from the spectacle: Greyraven and Lilywatt, battling against the fresh onslaught of guards; Danger Monkey, his fur matted with blood, tossed aside by the scruff of his neck; Vaig pushing the body from the console. Gwen and Spliff were still shouting at me from under the coffee table, but I wouldn't move until that last voice roared from behind me...

"Joel! Duck!"

I dove to my side, narrowly avoiding the low-flying object that was darting through the room like a predatory bird. It cut a sharp turn around the Deacon - only a second before it would've clocked him in the jaw. When it landed, sinking one of its arms into the top panel of the console - I realized that it hadn't come from a wild throw. The explosion threw Vaig back against his desk...