Chapter 12

“You ready?”Darius asked as he let out a deep breath and turned to look at his friends.
“Ready as I can be.” Trevor said as he looked around the room.
They had cleaned up one of the offices as best they could to hold interviews in. It was fairly large and still happen to have a table and chairs left over from whatever business had occupied the building in the past. They had spent the morning informing everybody that had visited the Caster Trading Company that they would be hiring later that evening. They had even taken a trip back to Caster Park, as well as some of the shelters to spread the news, and there was now a line of people waiting to be seen, and hopefully become employed.
“Mary… It’s really fine! You don’t have to make it sparkle in here.” Sir said to the young woman as she was trying to remove 40 years of dust that had been caked onto the windows.
“I’m almost done…” She said, ignoring him with a smile.
“Uh… We really should be getting started on the interviews.” Darius said to her.
Mary turned to him and smiled. Darius felt a shiver run down his spine and looked over to Trevor. He turned his back to Darius and pretended to look at something in the corner of the room. Darius let out a disappointed sigh seeing that he wasn’t going to get back up on this one.
“B-But I guess they can wait a few more minutes…” Darius said as he turned back to her and tried to muster the strength to smile back at her.
“Good! I’m almost done…” She said as she turned back to the window and hummed a cheery tune as she finished her chores.
“Okay! All done! Later on, you should power wash the outside.” She said to Darius and grabbed the cleaning supplies and walked to the door.
“Sure thing! Thanks. The room looks great!” Darius said to her.
She turned back and smiled again and left the room to go clean another office.
“Phew… That smile… goddamn! Did my hair turn white?” Darius asked both Trevor and Sir.
“She must still be a bit peeved from the small argument she had with Todd yesterday.” Sir said to him.
“Peeved is putting it lightly…” Trevor said.
“Well… I guess we can deal with that later. We should let the first person in now.” Darius said.
“Okay. So, how are we handling this?” Trevor asked.
“One of us should be the main interviewer and the others can add questions if needed.” Sir said.
“Alright. Can you do that?” Darius asked Sir.
“You sure you want me to do it?” Sir asked.
“I’m okay with it if Darius is. You seem like a better judge of character than us honestly.” Trevor said.
“Sure, That’s fine.” Sir said to them with a nod.
“I guess I’ll let the first person in…” Darius said as he walked to the door.
When he got there he looked back and waited for Sir and Trevor to seat themselves. Once they were settled in he opened the door and poked his head out. A long line of people stretched down the hall and into the stairwell, it continued down into the second-floor lobby and then down the main stairs onto the first floor and out the front door.
“Okay! First person please!” Darius said as a man perked his head up and walked towards him.
Darius led him in and motioned him to set and then did so himself on the other side of the table.
“Okay then. Let’s start with your name.” Sir said as Trevor picked up a clipboard and nodded to the others that he would take down his information.
“My name is Tim Woods. I’m 27 years old. Uh.. Birthday is October 7th, 1991.” The man said.
Trevor wrote it down as Sir looked the man over. Darius tried his best to look like he knew what he was doing and also looked the man over.
“Thank you for coming, Tim. I know you must be having a difficult time with all that has happened lately.” Sir said to him.
“Oh no! Thank you for seeing me!” The man said back.
“We actually have multiple positions open. We are looking for trustworthy people to help tend to the storefront as well and people to act as security. Which of these do you feel that you are most suited for and why?” Sir asked.
“Uh… Either would be fine wi-” The man started only to get cut off.
“That is not what I asked you. I asked you which of the two positions are you are most suited for and why. We have limited time and hundreds of people to interview. We are looking for the Aces in this deck… not a Jack of all trades.” Sir said to him coldly.
Darius looked to the side at Sir with wide eyes. He could see that Trevor was also looking at him. He was glad they made the right choice in who to do the talking. He looked back to the man who seemed to be fumbling with what to say.
“O-Oh…Umm… I guess Sec-” The man said before Sir raised his hand to stop him from speaking any further.
“Thank you for your time. If you would be so kind as to send the next person in on your way out.” Sir said.
“What? I… Aha, We just started the interview.” The man said chuckling a bit in disbelief.
Darius and Trevor looked over at Sir. They watched him lean back in his chair and sigh.
“Your not right for the jobs we are offering. I’m sorry. Good luck to you.” Sir said.
The man sat there with his mouth open in shock. He looked to both Trevor and then to Darius. Darius coughed awkwardly. The man shook his head and stood up and left the room without saying another word. After a few moments with no one else coming in, they realized that the man didn’t tell any of the other applicants that it was now there turn.
“… That was something…” Trevor said and looked over at Sir.
“We don’t have time to talk to people that are not even sure of what position they are more suited for.” Sir said to them.
“Okay yeah. I agree… “ Darius said thinking about it.
“… Alright. Uhh… I guess I’ll let the next person know it’s their turn.” Trevor said as he got up.
Darius could see why Sir was being hasty about the interviews. There just really wasn’t a lot of time to be super thorough. Having that screening question would quickly wring out anyone that was just trying to cast a wide net and hopeing that they were desperate enough to settle for them. But with the number of people auditioning, they could afford to be a bit picky. He still kind of felt bad about it though.
“Next person, please! And after this person is done, the next person in line can go ahead and come in.” Trevor said as he turned from the door and walked back to his seat.
Darius sighed and looked up. Sir straightened himself as well and welcomed the next applicant.
“Hello. Let’s start with your name.”
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Elisabeth walked down the stairs that lead from the living quarters into the main hall UHA. In a rare sight, she had her sunglasses hanging from the collar of her shirt. Her eyes had an unusual clarity to them as she actually did not spend the night before drinking… much. As she reached the bottom she was nearly run over by an intern that seemed to be in a panic.
“Hey! Watch it!” She yelled at him but was ignored completely.
She looked around and could see that almost everyone was in a bit of a hurried mess. She saw groups of Heroes arguing with each other. She blinked wondering what she had missed while she had been sleeping in.
“The Police and the Fire department are gone! We are the only thing keeping order in this city, but there is just not enough of us! We need to crack down and put on a show of force!” A masked man yelled.
“So you think the best solution is to go to war with the Underground?! You and your whole fucking team are crazy!” Another Hero that was in civilian clothes yelled back at him.
“What the hell’s going on?” Elizabeth asked walking up to the counter.
The receptionist looked up from her computer, her hair was a tousled mess.
“Huh? Oh… Uh… The Police and Fire Departments have closed their doors. They said until they can get some sort of compensation or more back up from the UHA or the government they are just not going to risking their lives anymore. Now there has been arguments all morning on whether or not that if the UHA should go ahead and perform raids on some of the more prominent Criminal Organizations… ” She said to her.
“You’re shiting me?” She asked as she turned around and looked at the arguing groups.
“We take them out now and the crime rate will drop dramatically! That way we can actually handle the rest of the civilians!” The masked man yelled and a few other heroes cheered him on.
Elizabeth sighed and was now wishing that she had been drinking as she walked over to the heated standoff.
“So what’s your plan? You raid them and then what? Round them all up, guard them in their cells? Are we talking execution on site? Because there are going to be a couple hundred, if not thousands of these guys all over the city.” She said to the man as she walked between the two groups.
“W-We will do what is needed!” The man said.
“And when the government gets their shit together are you willing to go to prison?” She asked.
“What?” The man asked with a scoff.
“I mean without going through the proper protocol, your little raid will be completely unlawful. In fact, any deaths that were to occur could probably get you and anyone else involved some real jail time.” She said to him.
“That’s if the government indeed comes back.” Another man decked out in a white and gold uniform said out as he walked to the front of the group.
“We already know the government is being re-established.” She reminded the man.
“Oh? You mean whatever it is that will call itself the government. Lead by someone, no one voted for… I’m disappointed that the Alexandria branch didn’t just assume control.” The man said.
“You… You’re disappointed the UHA didn’t stage a coup during a global crisis?!” Elizabeth asked in disbelief.
“I’m disappointed they picked the wrong course of action.” The man said.
“Jesus… Look… I’m not the biggest fan of the government either, but the UHA was not created to run the goddamned country!” She said back, getting more and more pissed off that this guy was acting so calm.
“No, but we would be the best option. After all the trouble the government has given Metakind, I’m surprised anyone here would be against it.” The man said to her smiling.
Elizabeth gritted her teeth. She could see where this was going. Ever since she was forced to resign from the UHA, she only really followed the careers of those she had been close with from before she left. While she knew some of the more popular heroes from the news like Galvity and AV Guy. But this man wasn’t ringing any bells. He was clearly intelligent and had charisma for days. He was wearing a professional uniform so she knew he wasn’t a new recruit from a week ago. Her only guess was that his power wasn’t something he got to use much or just wasn’t very useful at all.
“You’re mouthing off some really dangerous ideals here…” She said back to him.
The man looked back at her and smiled.
“As many of you know, The United Heroes Association use to be called Meta United, it was formed due to a hateful law that was designed to prevent Metas from being able to be themselves! I’m sure you remember that right? The Sikorsky Riots?” He asked her.
“Of course I do… I was there…” Elizabeth said narrowing her eyes at the man.
“So you should be the one here that should want a Meta run government the most!” The man said with a smile.
“Metahumans and Heroes are highly respected now. It was because we protested peacefully and lead by example about the positive mark we could leave on society and the world… Not by waging war on regular humans!” She seethed.
Oh, how Elizabeth wanted to shove his teeth down his throat. The worst part of this is that what he was saying was the truth. But to say that would be giving him ammunition for his cause. The government never wanted Metahumans organizing in any real fashion. But after The Sikorsky Riots of 1932, a boiling point had been reached. Metahumans demanded action and she had helped oppose the government’s unfair treatment of her kind. Nearly 100 years later, the UHA now had over 150 offices around the country.
“Sure… I wasn’t there so what do I know? But I don’t think you’re telling the entire truth. Then again hiding things seems to be what the UHA elite like to do lately.” The man said.
“What exactly are you getting at?” She asked narrowing her eyes.
“Oh, nothing… But just out of curiosity. Have you made any real estate deals lately?” He asked.
“…What does it matter to you?” She asked her eyes narrowing.
“It means a great deal when the higher-ups begin providing for and hiding information on a Silencer.” He said to her.
Whispers and murmurs began to spread among the Heroes around them on both sides.
“How the fuck-” She asked before being interrupted.
“How did I know? I guess we all have secrets…” The man said.
“What’s going on here!?” The heard a raised voice from above them.
They all turned to see Thomas descending the stairs. Although he was wearing a suit, he was sporting a five o’clock shadow and his hair was uncombed.
“We actually just got done talking. My team and I are going to go out on patrol now! Have a nice day everyone!” The man said as he raised his hand and waved.
And with that, he turned to walk out the front doors. He was followed by a group of 4 other Heroes. Elizabeth glared daggers into the man’s back. She couldn’t believe how easily the man had humiliated her. She looked around and saw that the other Heroes had disbanded and seemed to be giving her side glances as they walked away. She took a deep breath and forced herself to push her anger as far down into the pit of her stomach as she could. She turned to Thomas as he approached her.
“Who the fff-… God you look like refried death…” Elizabeth said on getting a closer look at him.
“Thank you, it’s been a long night.” He said.
“Never mind… Who the fuck was that?” She finished asking her question.
“That was a new recruit from about 7 months ago. His name Lucian Emery.” He said to her.
“That little fucker… You let a piece of shit like that into the UHA?” She asked.
“His parents made a large donation to us.” He said back.
“Are you serious? He’s a rich kid?” She asked.
“A very rich kid… it also helped that his ability is useful.” Thomas said rubbing his eyes.
“Too bad about... everything else about him. How the hell did he know about Darius?” She asked in a hushed whisper.
Thomas groaned and motioned her to follow him to one of the side rooms. As they closed the door behind them, Thomas took a deep sigh.
“Haaaa… Word got out about him sometime yesterday.” He said walking to a chair and sat down.
“Why the fuck wasn’t I told!?” She shouted at him.
“… You seemed busy.” He said back.
“The fuck I was!” She yelled.
“… See I knew this would be how you would react.” He said.
“No shit!… Why the hell do you look so tired?” She asked.
“Because I am tired.” He replied.
“You’re not normally this sarcastic… I don’t really see this whole Darius thing affecting you like this. What else has been going on?” She asked.
“Other than the Police and Fire Departments disbanding?” He asked.
“So what are you going to do about that?” She asked as she walked to a table and hopped up and sat on its edge.
“Expand patrols, double shifts… This on top of… “ Thomas stopped, realizing he said a little too much.
“On top of what?” She pressed him.
“Nothing.” He said to her.
“Bullshit. Tell me… I might be able to help.” She said.
“… Whatever. I’m too tired to argue and secrecy doesn’t mean anything if we don’t find her.” He said with a sigh.
“Her?” Elizabeth asked
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A red-haired woman opened a large sliding door and walked into a warehouse. Although the building was located in a junkyard, the inside was lavishly decorated and furnished. The woman walked onto a fine Turkish rug and stopped as she reached a large mahogany desk.
“I’m back from the meeting Miss Hartzog.” The woman said.
“What is the word from Effigy?” A woman wearing a black tailored suite asked as she tended to some potted plants.
“She says that the UHA is in shambles after the announcement from the Chief of Police. They are struggling to cover shifts for patrolling the entire city.” The red-headed woman told her.
‘“Hmhm… That’s good, that’s good… That’ll just make it easier for our operations. Tell the urchins to shop out our protection plans to any and all businesses. Tell them that they can collect payments later.” She said.
“Will do… Effigy also said that they also seem to be looking for something or someone that they have been referring to as ‘The Blue Fairy’… “ The Red Head added.
“Oh?… That sounds interesting. No theories on what this 'Blue Fairy' is Scarlet?” The women asked as she turned around from her flowers.
“No Miss Hartzog.” The young woman known as Scarlet said.
“Hmmm… What is that from? Cinderella?” The woman in black asked.
“No, ma’am. That was the Fairy Godmother.” Scarlet said to her as she looked to the side at a reproduction of a Bosch painting.
The room they were in had no windows, but it was still quite well lit. Tapestries hung from the walls and painting of various grotesque images were sporadically hanging. While Irina Hartzog enjoys darker and macaque works of art, Scarlet Camarillo was always more of a landscape sort of person. She looked over to Irina who seemed to be deep in thought. Irina’s large rimmed glasses slid low on her nose. She placed a finger on the bridge of her glasses and pushed them back up before opening her eyes. She looked over at her subordinate. Scarlet stood still, waiting for her to speak and matching her gaze. Her technicolor eyes were bright hues of gold and red that seemed to have a slight glow to them. Her iris’ seemed to float in a sea of nothing as her scleras where of a shade that was darker than black and seemed as to absorb all light that hit them.
“Ma’am?” Scarlet asked.
“I think I have an Idea of who they are looking for…” Irina said with a small laugh.
“Oh? Who?”
“Are you familiar with the story of Pinocchio?” Irina asked her with a smile.