Even Heroes Fall

Chapter Fourteen - Violet

'Hello boys,' I say, landing in front of the criminal group. See, Ghoul is not the only one who can do a hero-landing.

So Ghoul is a coward and a fake hero, well I suspected as much. He is right, being super powered does not make you a hero. And knowing now he only cares about himself makes me even more determined that my life as Justice is not over. This city needs a real hero.

But before I can think about that I need to focus on rescuing Ricky. I have tangled with the Peckworths a few times in the past, but never made a direct attack, especially at their base of operations. I am smart enough to know that with these types of crime families you cut off one head and another grows. The majority of the leaders have done time in prison and then quietly fallen off the radar as they turned once more to a life of crime. They were more than happy to accept Castlemain as their new benefactor, especially if the rumours he promised to help expand their operations is true. Luckily for me the Peckworths are old school and favour knives not guns. I am usually faster and more agile than the criminals I go up against directly in a fight, but I am no superhero.

I do a good job taking them on alone, my brain going into fight mode as I move through the steps of my training without thinking. Somewhere in the chaos Ricky escapes, and not a moment too soon, as the doors to the warehouse crash open and the Specialist Firearms Unit - SCO19 - pour inside.

'Police! Put your hands up!'

The torches attached to their guns blind me and I drop to the ground, raising my hands as instructed. I have never faced any of the SCO19 before but to try and fight them would mean death. Even I am not skilled enough to outfight their weapons, and here I am completely outnumbered.

An officer shines his light into the face to Lee Peckworth, blood trickling down the side of his face from where I hit him, although I feel no remorse as the man deserves it.

'We got you now, you bastard,' the officer grunts from under his helmet. Then he swings his light over me and lowers his weapon in dismay.

'Shit,' he says, 'it's Justice.'

** ** **

The metal clank of the bolt opening on my cell door jerks me out of my thoughts. I look up to see Marshall of all people entering the cell.

'Hello, Justice,' he says gravely, 'you have got yourself into quite a situation here.'

'I have?' I ask nonchalantly, deciding to fake ignorance. 'I was just doing my job, Reed.'

'You are not employed to be a hero anymore, or did you forget?' He sounds tense.

I settle back onto the hard bed in the cell, cross my arms, and fix Marshall with the coolest stare I can muster. 'How could I forget that you forced me to sign a contract which terminated my employment and made it illegal for me to ever be a hero again? And let us not forget the part where you replaced me with a fake hero who, by the way, was also at the warehouse last night, but conveniently refused to help me because he only cares about his personal vendetta against Castlemain rather than actually helping people in need.'

'What?' Marshall looks shocked by my revelation, although it is difficult to know what of everything I said to him prompted that response. He turns to the two officers flanking him. 'Give us a moment?' When they hesitate, he adds, 'she won't hurt me.'

Once they are gone, closing the door behind them and shutting us in, he moves closer. 'What were you doing at that factory, Justice?'

'Trying to rescue a kid that got messed up in the Peckworth brothers' business. His brother came to me asking for help - I couldn't say no.'