The Conductor {Black Lightning}{Wattys2018}

Ch. 13: Human Stupidity

After everyone left, Eugene waited roughly twenty minutes before she got changed and went to meet Tobias. She didn't need someone coming back to retrieve forgotten items and seeing her in her suit.

Tobias and Sy were sitting in a black Toyota when Eugene arrived. The car was the most conspicuous car she had ever seen.

"I thought the plan was to be stealthy," she said.

Tobias narrowed his eyes. "It is."

"Well, someone's gonna see us in that. It doesn't even have tinted windows."

"Are you questioning me?" he asked. As Eugene broke eye contact, she saw him cracking his knuckles.

"No."

"Good." The smugness in Tobias' voice made Eugene's stomach churn. "We have work to do."

Eugene sat in the backseat next to Sy as they scouted the city for the marchers. Tobias already knew the planned march route because of his access to Freeland PD's computer system, but for some reason, no one was marching where they should've been.

"Dammit," Tobias growled. "They must've changed the route at the last minute to avoid us."

"We should be able to follow the gunshots," Sy suggested.

Eugene's chest tightened. She didn't want to hear the gunshots. Someone was going to die tonight, but she didn't want to know when.

But she couldn't cover her ears - not with her helmet on. Sy would notice and she couldn't show any sign of hesitation. So she just screwed her eyes shut and sank further into her seat. Maybe that would tune out everything.

It didn't. The gunshots pierced Eugene's ears like needles, firing one after the other in quick succession. It was oddly silent except for the gunshots, though. No one was screaming. Maybe Black Lightning had saved the day after all.

Of course, if the gunman failed, Eugene would have to handle Black Lightning and kill all those people. She couldn't do that. Even if Sy finished the job, she'd still have to watch.

Silence followed the gunshots, leaving their trail cold for a few moments. But then the sounds of "Amazing Grace" rang out and led them straight to the marchers.

Eugene's heart pounded as the driver pulled up in front of the crowd. How could anyone not see the black car sitting right in front of them? She had to use all of her willpower to not scream at them for being so fucking stupid.

"No, no, no, no!" Tobias growled as he rolled down his window. "He's supposed to be dead!"

Seeing Black Lightning - or rather, Mr. Pierce - up close made Eugene want to vomit. How could she have not noticed that it was him all those years ago? It was so obvious. Suddenly she understood why nobody saw Tobias' car. Humans were completely oblivious.

"Are they singing?" Tobias rambled. "They are singing. That's why I hate these church-going Negroes. Always praying and singing. Singing and praying."

If it weren't for the shitty situation at hand, Eugene would've found Tobias' Grinch-like behavior amusing.

"They all want to go to heaven, but don't none of them want to die," he continued. "Sy, kill that electrified freak."

Eugene buried her head in her hands as Sy positioned the gun, not wanting to see who got hurt. She couldn't. She would get distracted and then botch up the job if Tobias needed her to do something.

Nothing prepared Eugene for the single, earsplitting gunshot that rang through the air. Tires screeched as the car raced away from the scene. The combination of screams and sirens made it impossible to hear anything Tobias said.

"What?!" Eugene shouted.

"Take out the car behind us!" said Sy.

Unbuckling her seatbelt, Eugene leaned out the window and shot a stream of lightning at the police car trailing them. The car flipped over and went up in flames.

"Good work," Sy told her.

***

Eugene sat on the bathroom floor and stared into space for almost forty minutes before actually changing out of her suit. Every time she committed murder, something inside of her died along with the person she killed. She didn't want to text Anissa. She didn't want to check the news. She didn't even want to brush her teeth even though her mouth felt gross.

The sound of a text coming in jolted Eugene out of her daze and made her nearly jump out of her skin. It was Anissa.

I'm okay.

Eugene whimpered in relief. Thank God.

Yeah Khalil's gonna be okay too. The bullet hit his spine, though.

Eugene's fingers froze. Khalil was the one who had been shot? This was what she got for not watching the news. How was she supposed to respond to that?

Fortunately, Anissa started typing again. I'm gonna stay with Jen tonight. She's pretty shaken up. I'll see you in the morning

A weight lifted off of Eugene's chest. Anissa not being there meant that Eugene wouldn't have to hold it together for one whole night.

Okay, she texted. Stay safe.

I will.

***

When Anissa came home Saturday afternoon, Eugene tripped over herself running to the door and fell flat on her face.

"You're like my old cat trying to greet me at the door," said Anissa, grinning down at her. "I mean, he didn't fall on his face doing it, but the resemblance is there."

"Shut up," Eugene grumbled as she pushed herself onto her feet.

"No, I'm not offended. I'm touched." Anissa smiled softly as she extended her arm. "Now come here."

Eugene melted as Anissa hugged her from the side. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Yeah, it was a close call, though." Anissa sighed. "We were all singing and then suddenly Reverend Holt got shot out of nowhere. I feel so stupid for not seeing anything."

"It's not your fault," Eugene said quietly.

"And apparently a police car got blown up and they're trying to blame it on Black Lightning. But why would Black Lightning randomly blow up a car? It's so stupid," Anissa said, shaking her head. "It's all so stupid."

Eugene swallowed a lump in her throat. "Yeah. It's really stupid."