Dial H for Heroics

Jack watched the road from underneath the branches of a tree. Some of the guests had

passed him on the way back to the city so he decided to let them pass in peace. There

would be stories tomorrow.

And Josie would not be pleased by what he had done.

Guin wouldn’t be either, but he expected the godfather to be ready to take whatever

he could out of the deal with so many openings in the infrastructure above him. He

might be able to take over the city from any rivals that might stand in his way.

He pushed the button for Elaine on the call band. He could talk to her while he

watched the road.

“I’m here,” said Elaine.

“How are things at home?,” asked Jack. He backed up so the glow from the call could

be construed as something else.

“Josie is still missing,” said Elaine. “The neighbors are talking about what she did.

I can see some pointing at the Hole in the Wall through the windows.”

“What did she do?,” asked Jack.

“She set the tax collectors on fire in a public display,” said Elaine. “I’m afraid we

might have to move.”

“All right,” said Jack. “Keep an eye out. I doubt anyone else is going to make a move

tonight, but someone might think they can. I’ll call Guin and see what his take on

things is. I might have made things worse with what I did.”

“I’ll keep watch,” said Elaine. “Where do you think Josie is?”

“I’ll call her in a second,” said Jack. “She’s probably walking things off.”

“I’ll call her,” said Elaine. “You deal with Guin. Then come home.”

“All right,” said Jack. “I’ll be home in a bit.”

Jack pressed the button for Guin. He doubted the guy was asleep. This was his prime

time at his casino.

“I’m here, Jack,” said Guin. His voice sounded like he talked on magic phones every

day. He probably wanted a box of them for his organization.

“I hit a party at Hent’s house,” said Jack. “You didn’t say he was a duke.”

“He bought the title from the last Duke,” said Guin. “I assume there was a lot of

damage, and that’s why you’re calling.”

“I’m going to have to say that is a yes,” said Jack. “If the Montrose didn’t know about

things before, they know now. Do you know anybody in the Guard?”

Guin didn’t say anything about the Makeover. That should have been a clue

something was on the horizon. Yet people with it came into his casino like they had

no care in the world.

He wondered if that would change now.

“I know some people that I use to secure information,” said Guin. He said it in a way

that he wasn’t going to give the names to Jack in case he decided to use the contacts

to do something like this.

“All right,” said Jack. “See if you can get one of them to dummy up an excuse to go

out to the Hent estate and file a report. I didn’t identify all the dead people. Some of

them fled. If they were smart, they cleared out of the city.”

“We need to talk about this,” said Guin. “In person. Mistress Fox too.”

“All right,” said Jack. “I’ll let Josie know. When?”

“I’m going to figure out how bad this is, and then we’re going to sit down and talk

about your methods,” said Guin. “Am I understood?”

“Too much attention?,” said Jack.

“Not yet, but possibly,” said Guin. “I am going to find out how much damage you

have done, and then we will see if our partnership will carry on. Do not kill anyone

else until we talk.”

“I didn’t plan on it,” said Jack. “A lot of the survivors are headed into the city. Some

of them might want to leave after what happened.”

“I will call when I am ready to arrange a meeting,” said Guin. “Keep your head

down.”

“All right,” said Jack. “I have to talk to Josie. Some people from the Montrose tried

to hit the Hole in the Wall and Jane’s House. Josie dealt with them.”

“All right,” said Guin. “I will send someone around to check on Jane in the morning.”

“Tell them to be careful,” said Jack. “Jane might be angry at someone trying to get

through the gates and doing things.”

“I understand,” said Guin. “I will ask her to join us. Is there anybody else involved?”

“Not really,” said Jack. “All right. One of the survivors is coming down the road.”

“Do not kill him,” said Guin.

“I gave this kid a pass,” said Jack. “I’ll send him down to the casino so you can talk

to him.”

“All right,” said Guin. “That will be something I can work on tonight.”

“It looks like the kid isn’t alone,” said Jack. “I might have to kill some more people

before I’m done. I’ll send him down to talk to you when I get him out of this

problem.”

“More restraint, Jack,” said Guin. “There’s only so much I can do in the face of Royal

Authority.”

“I need to save this kid and his true love,” said Jack. “Then I’m done for the night.

Let me know when you want to have this meeting. I’ll herd Josie down to talk to

you.”

Guin cut the connection. Jack made a note not to drink or eat anything at any meeting.

That would be a bad idea in his opinion.

He watched as the minor noble and his true love shared space on a single horse

trotting down the road. A group of guards he had missed at the estate were galloping

up to surround the rider and his lady.

Were they guarding the noble, or gearing up to rob him and take the lady wherever

they wanted? He decided to wait for something to happen. He just had to be ready to

act before either of the kids were hurt.

He decided that wasn’t good enough. It was better to show himself and see what

happened.

Jack stepped out from under the trees and stood on the side of the road. He had his

hand on the watch. What would they do when they saw him standing there? Did they

know his true face? That would decide things in his opinion.

“It’s him.” One of the riders pointed at Jack. “It’s him.”

Jack watched as the group turned to face him. He wished he had a Bulletgirl on his

watch. He frowned at the group. They already had swords out. Some of them waved

the blades at him.

He pushed the button and Captain America filled him with all the fighting expertise

he needed to get the job done.

Jack pulled the closest marked man off his horse and kicked his face in. He used the

horse as a vault to leap to the next one. They dropped to the ground with the persona

on top. Fists worked twice to make sure the guard didn’t get up.

The surviving guards turned their horses and rode toward the city. They passed the

noble and his lady without doing them any harm. The younger man pulled his horse

to a stop.

Captain America grabbed the reins of one of the loosed horses and let Jack lead it to

the still mounted noble.

“Can you ride, lady?,” asked Jack. “You can take this horse.”

“You’re the demon,” said the noble.

“I don’t think so,” said Jack. “A friend of mine wants to talk to you. He is waiting for

you down at the Silver Coin in the city. I think he wants to know what happened at

the Hent estate.”

“Why?,” said the noble.

“He is going to have to fix the mess that was made,” said Jack. “And he is going to

need help with that. So I told him that you were there, and he asked for me to send

you down so he could talk to you.”

“What does this have to do with us?,” said the noble. He and his lady exchanged

glances.

“You’re witnesses,” said Jack. “Guin wants to talk to you so he can figure out where

he stands. He doesn’t want to be caught up if something happens to the city. You

guys might be the key to his defense.”

“Will he help us?,” asked the lady.

“I don’t know,” said Jack. “He’s pretty mad at me right now. He might turn you away

as soon as he gets what he wants.”

“It’s a chance,” said the noble. “I don’t really like it.”

“What were you trying to do at Hent’s estate?,” said Jack.

“I wanted to get my land back,” said the noble. “Duke Hent took it from me over false

tax claims.”

“All right,” said Jack. “Go talk to Guin. Tell him what was going on, and what you

want out of this. With all of those guys dead, you might be able to get your land

back.”

“Will Guin help us?,” asked the noble.

“If he won’t, I will,” said Jack. A ding went off in his head. “Go talk to him and ask

him for a strategy. Tell him that I will back you if you are being straight with me.”

“Are you a devil?,” asked the lady.

“No,” said Jack. “I’m just a guy sent to do a job and the job just expanded out of

control.”

“I have seen that before,” said the noble. “My name’s Lord Cilt. This is Madeline

Fors. We were going to get married before all this happened.”

“You still might be able to if things go right,” said Jack. “Talk to Guin, see what his

advice is. Then we will see about the rest of this.”

“Thank you,” said Madeline. “How will we find you?”

“I will find you,” said Jack. “If you need help, go by Guin’s and Jane’s House and tell

them you’re looking for me. They’ll know where to find me.”

“Will they?,” said Lord Cilt.

“Unless I go home,” said Jack. “Have a nice ride back to the city.”

“How are you getting back to the city?,” said Madeline.

“I plan to fly,” said Jack. He headed into the trees. “Be careful because I’m leaving

you guys alone.”

He checked his watch as he moved through the woods. He had time to fly home if he

hurried.

He called on the Falcon and headed into the sky. He had an eye on the fleeing guards.

They weren’t stopping. That was good. If they were, they were doing that to ambush

Cilt and his love. Jack decided to make sure they left the couple alone. Once the two

were at the Coin, they could bargain with Guin about a room.

Jack returned to normal ahead of the guards. He stood in the shadows and waited for

them to pass. He made sure they were all still there.

One of them might get the idea that it would be good to stop and try to do things on

their own while the others headed for home.

He waited until Cilt and Madeline passed before he changed to the Falcon and flew

ahead to the top of the wall. He dropped down and switched to normal. He waited

until the couple reached the gate. If the guards turned, this is where it would happen.

He watched them ride into the city and head toward the Coin. He changed into the

Falcon and flew ahead to make sure that they reached the casino. He smiled when

they reached the door. The bouncers waved for the two to enter ahead of the line.

Jack headed for the Hole in the Wall. He still had to talk to the women and figure out

where they were going from here.

He dropped down and let himself in to the apartment he had expanded from a holding

dungeon. He paused when he saw all the girls were waiting for him with sticks at the

ready.

“Aren’t you guys supposed to be in bed?,” he asked.

“Josie isn’t home yet,” said Elaine. “She won’t answer her band.”

“I’ll go look for her,” said Jack. “Any more trouble?”

“No,” said Elaine. “It looks like some of it has been abated by her action.”

“She set them on fire,” said Melanie.

“Did they deserve it?,” asked Jack.

“Yes,” said Alicia. “They wanted to take us again.”

“Then they got what they asked for,” said Jack. “I’ll find her.”