Vigilante

2. Patty Parker

Two

Patty Parker considered herself a smart girl. She had graduated top of her class, gotten a full ride scholarship, and landed a prestigious job working at one of her cities top newspapers. There was one area in her life, however, where her smarts did not seem to help regardless. Ryder Armstrong had some kind of hold over her she couldn't shake. And if he asked her to jump into the firey pits of hell with him, she would, without even worrying about getting burned.

Patty took his hand in hers. "Tell me everything."

He stood, pulling her up off the couch. The two of them went to the very back of the library. There was a marble statue of a crow's head on one of the shelves, which he turned by himself. There was the sound of scraping against stone as the book shelves pulled themselves open, revealing a shadowy, dark stairway.

The moment they stepped into the stair case he pulled out his cell phone, using it as a flashlight so that they both could see as they descended into the darkness. It was chilly the further they went. Part of her wanted to ask questions, part of her was too afraid.

She kept silent.

Somehow, she wasn't surprised that there was a hidden passageway within the house. It was ancient, and the Armstrong's had always had their secrets. That their house also had secrets as well seemed fitting.

They descended into what seemed to be a deep, dark pit. After a moment, lights came on flooding the room. There was an enormous wall filled with screens, which seemed to show different parts of the city. Another section of the room was covered with weapons everything from knives to guns. In the center was a gym, with various work out gear. And still on another wall, was a list of names with pictures of mostly white, old men next to them and one woman.

As Patty took in the list, she realized that she was staring at the six most powerful CEO's in the country at the moment. People who were in everything from oil to drug money depending on who you asked.

The thing that really caught her interest though was the mask in the middle of the room. It was black and leather. "You were the man that saved me!" 

He nodded. "I hadn't meant for you to get pulled into this mess," he told her, "I was at the court house after you had come out. I was trying to get information on one of the supposed witnesses. But there was someone there, clearly meant to spook you from not reporting on the story. They think you know something."

"Whose they?" Patty asked.

"The six people that you see on that wall," Ryder explained, "back when the bombings happened, there were several major companies that benefited from it. Armstrong Industries, whose involved in technology. Carter Financial, who was involved with banking, Lotus Inc, Phantom Tech, Violet Corp, and Nightshade Solutions. Carter financial insured the building, Armstrong Industries got a new CEO, while the others all had shares in the company. With my father gone, it freed up stock, allowing Hayden to sell it to whoever he wanted once you gave it to them. He could get who he would deem as the right sort of individuals involved with the company allowing him to work on the projects he wanted."

"What kind of projects?"

"Military testing," Ryder explained.

"But Armstrong Industries runs newspapers and publishing houses," said Patty, "how are they involved in military testing?"

"Because Hayden's been trying to diversify the companies interests even before my parents were dead," said Ryder, "by diversifying interests near as I can tell, it means---"