Broker

Chapter 10

Days began to pass into weeks and the news stations were constantly reporting on the latest incident.

“Rioting has been reported in several nations this past weekend as individuals afflicted by the Pandora’s Light incident have been detained by government authorities.”

Scenes of civilians marching in the streets, some demonstrations more peaceful than others. A scene in Shanghai showed men and women standing in silent protest, watched by heavily armed soldiers while the streets of Paris were filled with rioters crashing into a wall of armored police. A molotov thrown in London was met with pops of rubber bullets from security personnel. Teargas poured over a street in DC, protesters running as they were rounded up. 

“Reporting from Jakarta where a monster wave was subdued by light touched vigilantes in costumes reminiscent of comic-book superheroes, the individuals disappeared before they could be reached for an interview.”

A woman, standing in front of a pile of monster corpses, most of them hounds with at least two lurkers as police run left and right behind her. 

“The United Nations has called for a meeting of world leaders to discuss the growing concerns about light touched and their potential dangers to civilized society, some nations have opted out of the meeting while others have filed formal protests about the language used in the initial statement, citing the actions of numerous light touched who have stepped in where military and law enforcement have been unable to-”

“Stocks at major military contractors are at an all time low as-”

“A light touched calling himself Firestorm appeared in Atlanta this afternoon, cracking down on a monster wave in a matter of seconds. Despite the conflagration caused by his abilities, there were no civilian casualties and very little damages to property…”

“Jesse Ortega, the eighty-year-old CEO of Wright Dynamics held a press conference where he revealed a miraculous age reversal, he has refused comment about the source of his newfound youth…”

“Gang violence in portions of New York has dropped to historic lows with little to no explanation, NYPD officials have refused to comment as analysts point toward increasing monster activity in the heavily populated city-”

The TV shut off with a snap and Martin threw the remote to his desk with a snarl, rubbing his face, What the hell is going on? He felt his blood pressure rise again and tried to take a steadying breath, every minute there seemed to be something happening in the world. It was like the entire planet was on fire. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sat down in his chair, fingers lingering over the drawer to his desk. His gaze sobered a little and he pulled his hand away, squeezing his fingers.

“Proud of you, Martin,” Carl said from the door, startling him.

“F- Carl! What the hell?” Martin gasped, looking up at the senior detective.

Carl shrugged, “I knocked,” He stepped inside, “You got a drink in that drawer?”

Martin’s eyes fell, “Mhm.”

Carl walked around the desk and opened the drawer, plucking the flask out of it and slipping it into his pocket, “I’ve got you buddy.”

Martin let out a breath, “Thanks. I can’t- I mean. Damn it that’s not important right now,” He growled and pushed himself back from his desk, standing again and pacing, “What the hell is going on in the Bronx? Now it’s quiet in Queens and there’s weird reports coming out of Staten Island. It’s like all the gangs in the city just started disappearing. No bodies either. Just gone.”

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Carl shrugged, “At least your backlog is cleared out,” He said with an impish smile.

“Carl!” Martin gasped, “People are disappearing!”

“Criminals are disappearing, Martin. Right now our concern is active cases and we don’t have orders to go investigating this yet,” Carl said, “The brass know what’s going on.”

“That’s the damn problem!” Martin snarled, slamming his fist on the wall, “Something big is coming and we’re here sitting on our hands. I know it has something to do with that pale lady, my gut is telling me-” He was cut off by a snort from Carl.

“You mean Sonya Chernovna?” Carl asked.

Martin looked up, “You know her name?”

“Of course I do, turn the TV back on, man,” Carl said and grabbed the remote, he flipped a few stations and there she was, skin as white as paper and hair to match, she was wearing sunglasses as before with an all white suit and pink tie. She was shaking hands with someone he felt was familiar and talking pleasantly. “Her, right?”

Martin stared at the screen, the text at the bottom read

‘Applied Strategic Technologies Association CEO, Sonya Chernovna, meets with NYPD Commissioner Rollins’

Martin gaped, that man couldn’t possibly be Commissioner Rollins, the guy was in his sixties, this man looked barely into his mid forties. “That’s not possible.”

“You just watched a guy in spandex start and stop a fire at will in Atlanta,” Carl said with a hearty laugh, “I’m pretty sure ‘possible’ is subjective these days.”

Martin gave Carl a withering look and sat back down in his chair to watch the proceedings. The reporter started talking, standing from a distance as the Commissioner hefted what looked like an assault rifle and showed it off to the crowd while Sonya, if that was really her name, showed off what looked like rifle rounds inside of a delicate looking display case.

“...ASTA has released an official statement regarding the new munitions, stating they are ‘dedicated to researching and understanding the nature of this new threat to humanity’ and ‘are committed to producing equipment suited for supporting those in the fight for humanity’s security and prosperity’. According to what details have been given, the new munitions are made using a patented process involving the remains of monsters. Miss Chernovna has credited the breakthrough to the light-touched researcher Amos Carter who is now the head of development at the newly established company.”

Martin felt his entire body go numb, “Amos Carter? The guy who was repairing junk phones for the Bronx gangs?”

“We never officially got him on that,” Carl pointed out.

“He was light-touched?” Martin breathed, ignoring Carl and rubbing his head, “That’s why she was talking with him. She knew somehow.”

“Well yeah, she’s the first light-touched to publicly disclose her abilities,” Carl pointed out, “Which news stations are you watching?” 

Martin looked up, “Seriously? What are they?”

“She has these weird mechanical eyes, she can see really far and with high fidelity, if she touches another light touched she can also see the name of their ability, not exactly superhuman, apparently she was blind before Pandora’s Light,” Carl said with a shrug, “Probably why she went into business instead of wearing tights and a cape.”

Martin frowned, It makes sense, but something doesn’t sit right with me. She’s moving really quickly and it just seems like she knows exactly what to do, and where’d all the money come from?

“Can we get her financials?” Martin asked.

“Probably, but we already know she has angel investors that she signed a non-disclosure agreement with. Plus, she looks pretty chummy there with the Commissioner. I doubt we’ll get anywhere with investigating her right now,” Carl pointed out with a shrug.

“That’s corruption,” Martin growled.

“That’s politics,” Carl countered.

–

Sonya strode down the narrow hallway and adjusted her tie a little, she was starving. It felt like she needed to eat twice as much as the average person just to keep going these days. Every moment was another task to complete and it was beginning to wear on her. She needed more employees. She resisted the urge to sigh as the voice on the other end of her phone finished talking, she forced out a smile, “Of course, Commissioner! It was wonderful meeting you as well, hon, thank you so much for your time today!”

“We’ll put these new munitions to good use protecting the city, Miss Chernovna, thank you again,” He said and then hesitated, “About our mutual contact um…”

“I’m sure she’ll get in contact with you soon,” Sonya said with a chuckle and finally entered the small room she’d been marching towards, Amos and Marta were already inside. “Let’s talk again soon, Commissioner!”

“Please, Miss Chernovna, Call me Adam,” The man said.

She smirked, “Then feel free to call me Sonya, we’ll speak again.”

She hung up and let out a groan, eliciting a chuckle from Marta, “You brought this on yourself, Sonya,” her caretaker pointed out, “Had to make a splash?”

Sonya glowered at her friend and walked over to the couch where a very tired looking Amos was lounging, rubbing his eyes and grumbling with a book in his lap, “Scoot,” She grunted and he rolled over enough to let her sit down. She stretched out her legs and threw her head back, “Image is everything, that’s what my dad used to say about businessmen and politicians. More importantly I had to make a move before anyone else did.”

“Still think it would have been years before someone figured out that monster bones could be converted into munitions,” Amos grumbled.

“I sincerely doubt you’re the only one out there with an intelligence amplifying ability,” Sonya pointed out, “You did good, Amos.”

“So can we go home now?” He asked with a grunt, setting the book he’d been holding aside. 

She plucked it up and looked at the cover, “Myths and Legends?”

“Wanted to see if there were any hints about Pandora, it’s just a general overview though,” Amos said with a shrug.

Sonya opened the book and started flipping through the heavily illustrated pages, admiring the text while Amos griped. She tuned him out, he hated being away from the apartment or the lab she’d set up for him. 

“...you’ve been having me work on those damn bullets all month! I want to work on one of my projects!” He complained.

“Then feel free, you’ve earned it,” Sonya said, glancing up at him and then at Marta, “Marta and I are probably going fishing soon.”

“Checking up on Shark?” Marta asked.

“I’ve left him to his own devices for a while, with what I gave him he’s done a pretty damn good job, but he isn’t the only guy on the streets with serious firepower behind his ability,” Sonya said thoughtfully, looking back down at the book.

“I think you should hold off until you’ve come up with a better way to conceal your identity, Sonya,” Marta pointed out, “Maybe give yourself a name too?”

“What? Like the so-called heroes running around out there?” Sonya asked with a frown.

Marta frowned and crossed her arms, “They’re doing good work.”

“They’re in it for the thrills and eventually the money once people start paying for their services,” Sonya said dryly, flipping a page in the book with a frown. “Firestorm is probably the only one out there actually trying to do any good right now.”

Amos looked up, “You know him?”

“We’ve met, his father was a patient of mine,” Sonya said offhandedly, turning the page again.

“Still, a good name might go a long way, especially in times like these. People seem to be latching onto the bandwagon with the whole superhero thing,” Marta said with a huff, “You’re playing two roles, why not do the same?”

Amos chuckled, “A name that strikes fear in the hearts of the heroes, miss supervillain!” Marta gave him a scornful look and he shrugged, “She owns half the gangs in New York, Marta, what else would you call her?”

Sonya snorted, “I’m not arguing the point, it’s part of the plan after all.”

“I still don’t fully understand the plan, by the way,” Amos said, “You ever gonna spell the whole thing out to us?”

Sonya shook her head, “Not yet, not till I know it’s truly possible. In the meantime we’ll make all the money we can and expand our influence, we’re still a tiny blip as far as the world is concerned, even with the munitions you made,” She flipped to another page and paused, stopping to read.

“Either way, you’ve got to be more careful about where you show yourself, maybe Amos can make you a disguise, got any projects that would help Amos? Don’t want you to get bored,” Marta teased him. 

Amos scowled, “Maybe I do, I’ll make it happen,” He bit out, “Better than you can imagine.”

“Better be spectacular then,” Marta said wryly, “Took you a whole month to figure out how to make bullets.”

Sonya ignored the two as they bickered, continuing to read. She hadn’t read a book like this in a long time and it was a little refreshing. More importantly, something about this particular myth simply resonated with her. She ran her fingers over the text, her eyes lingering on the depiction of a gleaming woman with a crown on her head, her eyes cast down in disdain over the world beneath her. 

She glanced up after absorbing it all, “Hey,” She said, interrupting the two as they were at each other's throats. They stopped and looked at her, “How does Ishtar sound?”