Even Heroes Fall

Chapter Twenty-Two - Ghoul

I receive a message from Violet just after six pm to let me know she is on her way back from Surrey. I spend the majority of the afternoon shaking up the last of Castlemain's known contacts and avoiding the police whilst trying to solve the mystery of why Castlemain would kill Theodore in the first place. Castlemain may be an evil mastermind and my nemesis but I have never known him to go this far. If he wanted to simply frame me for murder he could have chosen anyone. Why Theodore Devereux? With the police now thinking I am responsible for the death of their beloved council member it is almost impossible for me to go anywhere as Ghoul. Although my outfit is ruined almost being blown up, and the new one I ordered has not arrived yet.

I hang around City Hall in the early evening for as long as possible dressed in civilian clothes. It starts to rain which makes my life much harder, especially when the tourists all run inside the restaurants for cover, and the only people outside are the police officers guarding the perimeter of the City Hall and the commuters on their way home from work.

I sit on a bench that has some cover from a spindly tree and over-dwell on the strange series of events that got me here. If Castlemain wanted to frame me for murder why bother going to the effort of trying to kill me? Nothing was making sense.

'Hi.'

Violet appears through the drizzle at my side holding an umbrella. She looks me up and down taking in the black trousers, black boots, and black hoodie I am wearing.

'Subtle,' she comments. She is wearing almost identical clothes, but hands me two matching black masks to cover our eyes. 'I stopped off at a fancy-dress shop on my way over here,' she explains, when I raise my eyebrows questioningly.

She glances over at the City Hall with its yellow tape and disgruntled wet police officers. 'I spoke to Marshall,' she tells me, quietly.

This sparks my interest. I didn't think she would actually confront him about what he knew, for some reason she seems to have a soft spot for the mayor.

'He said he and Theodore went for dinner and then parted ways like usual afterwards.' She turns back to me.

'He's lying.'

'Maybe, maybe not. But it turns out that before I got to the house he was searching through Theodore's belongings for something Theodore said could help them with Castlemain.'

'What?'

She hesitates, then shakes her head. 'I don't know. We got interrupted before we could finish the conversation. But i think it might still be in Marshall's office.'

'We definitely need to search it,' I agree, rising off the bench.

'Do you have a plan to get past them?' she asks me, pointing at the officers. 'Without injuring anyone,' she adds. I should be offended by her implication that people get hurt when I am around but she is not wrong.

'I have a plan,' I tell her, 'but you might not like it.'

She rolls her eyes. 'Tell me.'

** ** **

We stand on the roof of the Norton Rose Headquarters: the building directly opposite the City Hall and conveniently the one with the closest roof. The security inside this building is minimal, with the main focus on the City Hall next door. No one had even noticed when we slipped in through the delivery entrance and took the fire escape stairs to the very top.

Looking at the City Hall from this angle I can really appreciate how the architects really went in for the most awkwardly shaped building design in London. I suppose I should be grateful we are not trying to break into the Shard. Now that I am standing here I feel less confident about my plan.

'I can go alone,' I say to Violet, the thought of putting her life in danger churning up something deep inside me unexpectedly. If something goes wrong I will survive a fall from this height but Violet, with her un-powered body, will be a splatter of broken bones on the pavement. I cannot let that happen.

'Are you joking?' she asks in that stubborn way I have come to recognise in her. 'I know Marshall and Theodore better than you. Plus I work there! If what we are looking for is really in that office, it will be me that can find it.'

'But-'

'Just do it,' she snaps, adjusting her gloves and squaring her shoulders.

I hate the fact she is right and the thought of putting her in danger is making me nauseous. But she cannot get in without me, and I most likely won't be able to find whatever we are looking for without her, so I have no choice. We need each other. I crouch down so she can climb on my back piggy-style. Her arms go around my shoulders, her legs tight against my waist. I try to ignore the closeness of her proximity, the places where her body touches mine, and focus on the task at hand. To me she weighs nothing, of course.

'Hold on as tight as you can,' I tell her, 'you won't hurt me.'

'I know,' she whispers in my ear, sending trickles of heat down my neck in a way I cannot even think about right now.

I take a breath, focus on the annoyingly oval roof of the building opposite, and then I start to run. I reach the edge of the roof and jump, propelling us both easily through the air. Although I am terrified Violet will let go I have to trust she will not. I land on the roof of the City Hall which is slick from the rain. I might have super strength but that doesn't extend to my gripping abilities so we slide a bit towards the edge. I feel Violet's hold on me tighten in fear, but I manage to get a steady hold. I pause, letting out a breath, before surveying our next move.

'Over there,' Violet whispers, nudging me in one direction, and then I see there is a door, presumably for engineering works. I carry her over to the door because I am worried she will fall as the roof terrain is far from ideal for navigating. When we reach the door I let her down gently. Her face is paler than usual under the hood and mask.

'You good?' I ask.

She nods. 'Yes... first time... jumping like that,' she explains.

I grab the handle of the door and pull it off easily, the metal twisting and breaking in my grip. 'You get used to it.'

Inside we creep through a stairway lit only by green emergency lighting. I note that there are no CCTV cameras in this stairway which seems a big oversight for a building with high security.

When we reach the eighth floor we creep through the shadows to the Mayor's office. Violet hesitates on the threshold, the smell of blood and death seems to linger in the air and I wonder if she can smell it too. But then when I move around her I see what has made her pause. The entire office has been turned upside down. Papers, books, files, all scattered across it. The furniture is upside down, drawers ripped from both her's and Reed's desk, shelves torn from the bookcases. The only piece of furniture that remains standing upright is Reed's desk, which I assume is so firmly attached to the floor Castlemain didn't think it was worth his time pulling it up.

We step into the office, both of us surveying the scene silently. I check the door and the lock for any sign of forced entry and find none. Striding over to the private lift I check that too and it is also intact. Since only Reed and I have access to this lift I have to conclude Castlemain walked in easily.

'He came through the front door,' I tell Violet.

She has been picking up some files and stacks of paper, which if you ask me is a bit pointless.

'Security didn't stop him,' she follows on from my train of thought. 'No one reported any suspicious intruders.'

'Exactly. He could have come in with Theodore, or just after him. He probably knew his face.'

'Theodore knew a lot of people,' Violet points out. 'But you should check the CCTV footage from that night. You know his face, don't you?'

I nod in confirmation. If only she knew how well I know his face. 'I can look at the footage whilst you check the office for anything you recognise may be missing. Any clue as to what Theodore had that could help with Castlemain, that he clearly wanted badly enough to...' I trail off. I cannot finish the sentence. We both simultaneously look down at the dark red stain on the carpet and I feel instantly guilty when I see Violet shudder.

'Yeah, go,' she finally replies. 'Watch out for the police patrols.'