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Authors: J.D. Cunegan
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be an off ramp, and the tires hollered in protest when the van made a ninety-degree left-hand turn, sheet metal scraping against a concrete wall. The sharp scraping sound sent a chill down the colonel's spine and he recoiled, hands covering his ears despite the mind-numbing pain in his shoulder.
Another hard left sent Downs rolling to the other side, slamming back-first into the rusted metal. He grunted in pain through clenched teeth; he had tried not to verbalize the pain, so as not to give the jackals on the other side of the partition the satisfaction, but he was in so much agony that it was impossible. Rolling onto his back, Downs stared at the ceiling, his vision blurred by tears. He was weak, the throbbing in his head and shoulder overwhelming almost every other sensation. He barely even noticed the blood on his face, which had now made it way onto his chin. His vision was growing dark. He felt as if he would pass out at any moment. Hell, it had occurred to him this might actually be his last night on Earth.
On meat loaf night, no less.
CHAPTER 16
Jill watched as the van careened off I-83 and onto one of the countless side streets that connected North Baltimore with downtown. Her perch atop the John and Frances Angelos Law Center on the campus of the University of Baltimore gave Jill a perfect vantage point for the chaos, and she was glad she had decided to tail Colonel Downs after her conversation with Officer Carter. Not that she had considered Downs a suspect, but if he had anything that could have led her to one of the other perpetrators, then she was going to take every advantage she could.
Even if that meant breaking out the black leather and letting her hair down. The katana felt heavier than usual strapped to her back, a family heirloom that served as her symbol as much as anything else. Since the fallout from Vernon Delaney’s murder, Jill had kept her vigilante exploits to a minimum... mostly because far too many people now knew her secret. Sure, the vast majority of them were co-workers, people she trusted with her life, but the last thing Jill wanted was for her double life to become common knowledge. If that meant toning down the rooftop brooding and the bad guy pummeling for a bit, she had to make do.
But if any case begged for off-the-book investigating, this was it. If Jill's hunch that cops were involved in Devin Buckner's murder was correct, and if the pattern of behavior had been laid out before the brass downtown and nothing had been done, then something told Jill she wasn't going to solve this case with her badge. Internal politics were her least favorite part of the job, and a large reason why she never showed much interest in moving up the proverbial food chain.
So why had she accepted Downs’ offer?
Sure, Captain Richards was desk-bound most of the time and got to go home at a decent hour most nights, but at what cost? She had heard some of his phone calls with the deputy commissioner and others at the Bishop over the years, and she decided long ago she wanted nothing to do with that. Jill became a cop to do good, not put up with bureaucratic hurdles. But still… maybe Jill could have used that newfound power to her advantage. Slowly but surely change the system for the better. No doubt countless others had felt the same way… only to watch helplessly as the wheel spun along, unchanged.
In the distance, Jill saw the van take the exit that led onto North Avenue, going far faster than any vehicle that size should. It almost toppled onto its side, and Jill wasted no time beginning her descent. This was one of those times where Jill wished Project Fusion had given her the ability to fly; at the very least, she wished she could afford to invest in a quality grappling hook. But she had to make do with fire escapes and improvising ways to get down off rooftops without injuring herself. The last thing Jill needed was another multiple-story, terminal velocity tumble.
Her infrared
Another hard left sent Downs rolling to the other side, slamming back-first into the rusted metal. He grunted in pain through clenched teeth; he had tried not to verbalize the pain, so as not to give the jackals on the other side of the partition the satisfaction, but he was in so much agony that it was impossible. Rolling onto his back, Downs stared at the ceiling, his vision blurred by tears. He was weak, the throbbing in his head and shoulder overwhelming almost every other sensation. He barely even noticed the blood on his face, which had now made it way onto his chin. His vision was growing dark. He felt as if he would pass out at any moment. Hell, it had occurred to him this might actually be his last night on Earth.
On meat loaf night, no less.
CHAPTER 16
Jill watched as the van careened off I-83 and onto one of the countless side streets that connected North Baltimore with downtown. Her perch atop the John and Frances Angelos Law Center on the campus of the University of Baltimore gave Jill a perfect vantage point for the chaos, and she was glad she had decided to tail Colonel Downs after her conversation with Officer Carter. Not that she had considered Downs a suspect, but if he had anything that could have led her to one of the other perpetrators, then she was going to take every advantage she could.
Even if that meant breaking out the black leather and letting her hair down. The katana felt heavier than usual strapped to her back, a family heirloom that served as her symbol as much as anything else. Since the fallout from Vernon Delaney’s murder, Jill had kept her vigilante exploits to a minimum... mostly because far too many people now knew her secret. Sure, the vast majority of them were co-workers, people she trusted with her life, but the last thing Jill wanted was for her double life to become common knowledge. If that meant toning down the rooftop brooding and the bad guy pummeling for a bit, she had to make do.
But if any case begged for off-the-book investigating, this was it. If Jill's hunch that cops were involved in Devin Buckner's murder was correct, and if the pattern of behavior had been laid out before the brass downtown and nothing had been done, then something told Jill she wasn't going to solve this case with her badge. Internal politics were her least favorite part of the job, and a large reason why she never showed much interest in moving up the proverbial food chain.
So why had she accepted Downs’ offer?
Sure, Captain Richards was desk-bound most of the time and got to go home at a decent hour most nights, but at what cost? She had heard some of his phone calls with the deputy commissioner and others at the Bishop over the years, and she decided long ago she wanted nothing to do with that. Jill became a cop to do good, not put up with bureaucratic hurdles. But still… maybe Jill could have used that newfound power to her advantage. Slowly but surely change the system for the better. No doubt countless others had felt the same way… only to watch helplessly as the wheel spun along, unchanged.
In the distance, Jill saw the van take the exit that led onto North Avenue, going far faster than any vehicle that size should. It almost toppled onto its side, and Jill wasted no time beginning her descent. This was one of those times where Jill wished Project Fusion had given her the ability to fly; at the very least, she wished she could afford to invest in a quality grappling hook. But she had to make do with fire escapes and improvising ways to get down off rooftops without injuring herself. The last thing Jill needed was another multiple-story, terminal velocity tumble.
Her infrared
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