Damsel: No More, page 22
part #1 of Damsel Series
Still, she answered the thing, since it had come up of late that people had needed her. Which, as she tabbed the device on, was different than how she’d lived the rest of her life. After all, almost no one had ever come to her, the little princess and crime victim, for help. Not until she’d decided that wasn’t who she was any longer.
Cold plastic in hand, warm covers bunched around her as she leaned back on the fluffy pillows, she spoke. Her voice thick.
“Hannah, here. What’s up?”
There was a pause then, as a voice she didn’t really recognize spoke in her ear. It was manly and sounded slightly professional, even if it was too early for normal people to be making cold calls.
“Damsel? We met the other day. Lash gave me your number. I wouldn’t call this early, but a... friend of mine has gone missing...”
She sat up, gasping a bit, as her mind changed gears.
“Fudge. Right. Let me... I need to get better at things like finding people. I still need to use a float tank and I don’t have one here. Can you get Lash the information about who I’m supposed to find? I’ll... I need to get a ride to her place, if she and Debbie are cool with that.”
There was a grunt then.
“That won’t work. They’re both occupied at the moment, or Lash would have called herself, instead of having a near stranger do it.” There was a grimness to the voice. One that spoke of urgency. Danger as well.
“Um... I... Look, I’ve done this kind of thing, like... Seven times so far. I’m just learning. I’m supposed to be learning to do it without the tank, but I haven’t yet.” Which, she realized, might not mean anything to the bad guys of the world at all. “So... I need to get on that. I’ll try it, but I need someone to come and listen to what I’m saying, and to help work things out. Let me...”
She scrambled, mentally, going through the list of people she knew that could get to her in time to be helpful that way. She didn’t draw a blank, but it really was four in the morning. Even the people she knew would mainly be asleep by then.
The rather famous superhero made a sound that was, she realized, him clearing his throat.
“What’s the address. I’ll be right over.”
“The Banksford Building. Manhattan. Nine-C. I have a balcony? You can fly, right? That or come in not dressed in a way that will have reporters thinking this is a late-night booty call? Unless it is and then...” She yawned. “In that case, earlier in the evening! You aren’t even drunk, so no excuses, that way.”
That, oddly, got a laugh.
“Nothing like that. I’ll try to make sure I’m not seen. The balcony in... Five minutes?”
That meant she wasn’t going to get to put makeup on before he got there. She didn’t bother, just moving to get her gun and knife. Both things that wouldn’t affect the man coming, if he decided to do something incredibly out of character. Then, it wasn’t about him at all, just her making certain she was using good habits. Carl had told her to stay armed. She was sleeping with the weapons next to her bed, so when she got up, they were strapped onto her, or went into a pocket. A thing she didn’t have any of, at the moment.
That meant holding the closed silver metal and black rubber blade in her hand. She did manage to brush her teeth first, after opening the sliding door, to let the man in. That meant she walked out, holding a weapon, when he walked into the room.
She lifted the thing for him to see.
“I’m supposed to be armed all the time, but I don’t have a pocket in these PJ’s. It isn’t a comment about your coming to visit. Even if it is a bit early for that kind of thing. Now, I’ll try to go into a trance, if I can. Then, if I manage it at all, I’ll hold up my left hand. A little. Give me the name. Just the first name. You knowing who it is should be enough. Don’t tell me anything about them, so my brain won’t make up a story about it. Then... I’ll try to work out where they are. It could take some time.” She felt awkward, telling this man about how they had to do things.
Still, he simply nodded at her.
“Thank you. I know this is an imposition.”
She waved that away. After all, she had a goal now. Not being a victim. Helping to find people would work for that, as well as beating up on bad guys.
“One bit here.”
She let go of stress and worry, first. Then imagined herself in the tank. In silence. It was hard to do, since, even if her apartment had great sound proofing, there were still things inside of it that made noise. The fridge hummed in the other room. There was a clicking that, she realized, came from the man there with her. She tried to set that all aside, eventually doing it, a long while later.
Then, slowly, things started to appear to her, in the blackness behind her eyes. Pictures, which were glossy, and slightly green at the edges. At first, she thought it was an artifact she was putting on the things, in her head but she got it, after waving her left hand, just a bit.
“Sasha.”
The woman, who had dark hair, and light-colored eyes, as well as pale skin, was sitting in a room, tied to a chair.
“No, those aren’t ropes. Straps. Who has a chair with straps like that? It isn’t even arranged for sex, so... This is... I need to focus.” She’d let herself get distracted. The lady was annoyed, more than scared, for some reason.
She also looked back at Hannah, rather directly, inside her head, and then... winked.
“Your friend knows that I’m watching her. Good. I need to find the location.”
That, it turned out was a mansion. One that she’d been to before, if a long time back. When she found the man who owned it, sitting in a study, looking at a computer screen, his bald head dull in the dim light of the place, she rolled her eyes.
The name had the man with her grunt.
“Him again? We used to be friends. Back when... Well, you mentioned a green glow around Sasha? That isn’t great. I’m... Allergic, I guess, to a certain kind of radiation. That sounds like what’s there. I’ll have to get someone else to go and get her. That...” The man, an incredibly powerful person, shook his head. “I don’t do that well. Asking for help. I know some people, but...”
Hannah laughed a bit, darkly. Then she nodded.
“You know, that is almost exactly the opposite of my problem, in life. I was always small. Weak. A victim, whenever anyone decided I was an easy target. My safety only came from other people. It’s a hard way to live. The thing is, no one is going to think less of you for asking for help. When it’s the smart move, then do it. Besides, if your friend is in need, you can’t let your ego get in the way of doing the right thing.”
Then, having an idea, she held up a single finger.
“First though, let me make some calls.”
Her father was first, who had the direct number she needed. He wasn’t pleased about being woken up that early, of course. The next one was to the man who had a woman locked up in his basement. One of the most famous leaders of industry in the world. He was also a bit notorious.
He picked up on the first ring, which was a good sign.
“Hello?”
“Hello! This is Hannah de Peyser. I’m calling for two things. First, have you heard about the food bank PR program I’m putting together?” The man might not recognize her name, of course. Her father knew the guy, and they really had met before, several times but they hadn’t exactly spent the holidays together or anything.
“Hannah? I did get a call from your father the other day, rather dunning me to help you out with a pet project. Something about rehabilitating corporate images? That... Isn’t a horrible idea, since you’re a friend of mine. I suppose I could throw a few million in to help the needy?”
She blinked, since truthfully, she wouldn’t have thought to even ask the man about things like that.
“Call it fifty million? We’re looking for real goods, too, so if you have useful surplus, things that will help keep people fed, that sort of thing, we can show it at a markup. That way you look like you’re spending a lot more than you actually are, and people actually benefit at the same time. We have a decent advertising campaign being set up as well. Pseudo-grass roots. It will be part of a television program in the fall, for instance. Also interviews and so on. Can we get you to do that? You play well, on television. People know who you are and all that. True, you don’t look that bad, right now, but part of image management is keeping things looking nifty.”
“Indeed! I... Let me look at my holdings and see if there’s anything like that which will work for a food bank? I might have some things... Now, you said there were two things you wished to discuss?”
She sighed then, but nodded, looking up at the tall man in his ridiculous outfit, standing in front of her sofa.
“I do. Before you leap to conclusions, this isn’t a booty call. Not that I’m saying no to that idea... I just know not to call this late. Um, seriously though, you have a woman named Sasha locked in your basement? What would you want to let her go?”
“I don’t know what you mean?”
Hannah rolled her eyes.
“The woman, with metal straps on her arms and legs? In a chair, surrounded by a green glow... I was asked to find her and, surprise, my old family friend was right there, in his study. Before you ask, no I wasn’t hit by an alien satellite or anything. This is just a normal human psychic ability. Caused by trauma, from all the times I was kidnapped and held? Never as nicely as all that. I normally wouldn’t have called like this, but it’s you. I know that you wouldn’t want to really harm anyone. So you get a call, instead of something more annoying.”
“Oh. That’s rather impressive then! I wasn’t aware you were investigating the powers of the mind. It isn’t even a special power, you say? That’s... I suppose I could release her, into your custody? She rather broke in here and I have learned, over the years, that super human types tend not to be held well or easily by the good men and women of law enforcement. Truly, it isn’t fair to ask that of them, then leave them without the tools they need to handle such situations. Will you be coming to get her yourself?” The man didn’t even sound sly about the idea.
“Nope. Just let her go, and give her this number. She won’t be back to bother you, for at least a while. I’ll guarantee that.” She stopped then, not knowing the woman in question, even if she’d seemed a bit familiar. “By that I mean I’ll talk to her and ask her not to do that kind of thing again. At least for, call it two years?”
She was making an offer, so the man instantly laughed and came back with a counter.
“Twenty. I value my privacy and while I don’t mind the occasional guest, I do like it if they at least call first.”
Hannah, feeling almost silly, sighed.
“Hmmm. Four, but I’ll make certain she gives you that heads up, before coming in, after that?”
The man sounded hard, suddenly.
“Ten... With that information being given first. If she refuses...”
The man standing in front of her looked hard then, as if suspecting something very bad was about to be said.
So Hannah interrupted.
“Five. If she refuses, you can put out pictures of her having broken in. That you won’t, otherwise, is your leverage, to ensure her good will on the bargain being made.”
There was a laugh, then. It sounded real.
“Oh, that’s nice. Yes. We can do that, then. Please make certain I’m not bothered by her again, for that time? I do have a lot of information I could release about this young lady’s activities. Not all of them are wholesome. May I ask who hired your services?”
It was her turn to chuckle, as if she knew what to say to that. Rather than give up the man in front of her, Hannah lied.
“You may. It’s simply a number though. Zero Six. From the Khan Collective? I wasn’t told why. There was just a request and... Well, I don’t take money for this kind of thing. If you ever need that kind of service, having someone’s location found, I’ll want a favor, in exchange. I normally wouldn’t give over a name like this, but whoever this is keeps trying to have me kidnapped or killed. They don’t know I know... So, you get me, if you find anything on them, don’t be shy about giving me a call?”
There was a pause then, and a sound, like typing on a keyboard.
“Very... Ah... I see. I don’t have a name for this individual, in my files. Several of the others in that group. We don’t do business, of course, but it has come up that we’ve had aligned goals, a few times in the past. You... Do you know about your mother?” The man actually sounded reluctant to mention the idea.
“That she’s a super villain and works with the Khan Collective? Zero Three, or so she claims. Can you confirm that for me? I’d rather not have to believe she was the one trying to have me killed.”
There was more typing then, and a pleased gasp.
“Ah! That is what I have marked in my files. She’s high profile for that particular organization. Not that she still might not be behind the light harassment you’ve been being put through, of course. When one steps into the world behind the visible, things tend to become... Rather more complex, than they might at first seem. Now, I’ll see what might be freed up, for your project? In return for the good public relations you mentioned. Also, I’ll have the young lady set free and asked to leave the property. I have this number. I’ll request she call you, when she’s gone?”
“Thanks! I look forward to hearing from you, soon.”
She hung up then, taking a deep breath.
“Now, if that works... It might not. That was surprising. I didn’t... he’s a friend of the family. Then, if people are breaking into your house, and the cops can’t do anything about it...” She shook her head. “Why would anyone be doing that? To steal from him?”
The words got a very strained expression from the other man.
“Spying, really. Taking copies of documents. He’s involved in all sorts of crimes. Not... I don’t know if you should be doing business with him.”
She nodded, but wasn’t really agreeing. Instead she stood up and looked out the large sliding window, which showed the sky was getting lighter.
“I guess I’m awake for the day. Can you watch my phone for that call, while I shower? If it’s anyone else... just imply that I picked you up at a bar, and that I’m in the shower?” That would fly, with most of her friends. Even Veronica would probably buy it. Kate might not, but she really doubted that she was going to be getting in touch that early.
Hannah felt like crud, but walked into the other room, still holding the folding knife in her hand. Half an hour later, as she walked back out, clean and still a bit damp, in clothing that seemed real, if a bit too casual for guests, at least in her world, the phone finally rang. That meant she could answer it herself.
The man, sitting now, stood and handed it to her, almost eagerly.
Probably glad not to have to lie to people about why he was there.
“Hello, Hannah de Peyser here.”
There was a grunt then.
“Damsel? This is Guardia. You got me loose, somehow? How?”
“Bribes and chicanery, mostly. You have to agree not to break back in there for five years and after that, call first, if you’re going to make an attempt. Or if you just want to visit. If you don’t, then pictures of you will probably hit the web. On the good side, they might not, otherwise. It isn’t perfect...”
The woman on the phone, who she recalled from the other day, having helped take down the Red Trio with a clever ruse, made a choking sound.
“Really? That... Damn. We need to take this guy down. I can call in someone else, I guess. Thanks. For saving my ass, I mean. I thought I felt someone looking at me, earlier. Was that you?”
She nodded.
“It was. I noticed the wink. Anyway, are you all right? Not hurt or...” Just because the man that owned the house hadn’t raped her didn’t mean an employee hadn’t. The woman sounded calm, but she might be that way, even if traumatized. Different people responded differently, after all.
“I’m good. A bit sore from hours in a chair, in one position. Right now, I need to get home... you know, I have work in three hours. Thanks, again. I owe you.” Then she hung up, as if that were a real thing.
After all, the woman had backed Hannah up, when she needed it. Not that it had been about that, at all.
The famous man, still on his feet, smiled then.
“Well, that was odd, but I have to thank you, too. I... Here. If you need me, let me give you a number. I’m married, so...” He actually blushed then, his cheeks going an adorable red in coloration.
Hannah didn’t let her face move, getting the idea.
“So, if I want to get some, I need to invite your wife, as well? Sweet.”
The man made a snorting noise, then input the number in her phone, directly. The initials next to it weren’t the ones from the name used in the press, at all. She nodded, and didn’t ask what it meant. It wasn’t likely that she’d be calling for him, after all. Still, she occasionally had parties and things like that, so he could be invited.
“You have my number. I... Need to get better. I can find people, but that took nearly an hour.” She shook her head, but meant it. The man simply nodded in return.
“You can’t be everywhere, or do everything. It took me years to learn that one. I’ll be in touch.” Then the man vanished. She suspected he’d simply left, using speed she couldn’t track, but there was no way for her to know that for certain.
Then, a lot of her life had become like that suddenly. She wasn’t all that certain about anything much. It was unsettling, but, instead of worrying over things she couldn’t control, Hannah went and changed, did her exercise and virtual gun practice, then showered and dressed again, in different, more appropriate, clothing. This time she put makeup on, to hide the remaining bruises. Those had, finally, started to fade enough they were barely visible, even without the paint on her face. She tried to be delicate with it that day, leaving her looking fresh and lively, even if she felt half dead.
Then, she sat for a while, trying to think about what she needed to do. Really, it was down to the food bank project for her, if she wasn’t going to dwell on all the weird shit that had been taking place in her life. Not that she didn’t need to start doing that as well. Someone had tried to kill her, for what seemed like no reason.
