Chapter 45 Flaxseed Bar.

Chapter 45: 45 Flaxseed Bar.

I killed the engine of the car and stepped out into the cold night street.

I’ll say this about the Captain, he knew how to do a proper villain lair.

I looked up at the former hotel that now served as the Captain’s base of operations and had to admit, I was impressed.

It had apparently once been a ski chalet, which only confirmed to me that he was hiding in there.

True villains can’t quite help themselves sometimes. They really needed to stick to a theme, and the fact that the Sunset Oakland looked like the Overlook Hotel only strengthened that idea.

Set on a ridge, surrounded by mountains and pine trees, it stood alone in the night, the fence and wall high around it.

Peaking roofs jutted out, the whole place like a forgotten relic of past fortunes now fallen.

It was dark, the night choking the mountains and leaving me half blind, but I could feel the metal in some security cameras topping the fence, and from where I parked I could see a number of lights still glowed in the Sunset Oakland’s windows.

And it was the home of Captain Zero, that was for sure. Villains weren’t really all that good at subtly hiding their lairs. That’s one place the mob one-upped them.

They always did something weird like stick a giant letter on the building, or building a Scottish castle on the roof.

I mean really, what kind of person builds a fucking castle atop a skyscraper? That is not normal.

And in this case, it was the cold.

We were still in the middle of summer, but snowdrifts clung to the sides of the building and frost gleamed in sprawling patterns on every window.

The grass of the grounds shone and glistened in the moonlight with frost, and ice steamed outside the main doors and bled from windows like someone had trapped a season inside.

A faint nimbus of dark clouds roiled above the hotel, and snow drifted down every now and then.

I wasn’t even sure if the Captain was consciously doing it.

He was not the type of man to care too much about such subtleties, but the sheer scale of his power meant he really didn’t need to hide.

Who’d dare fuck with him? I was kind of shocked he’d bothered to go so far as try and scheme in order kidnap Glacia instead of just plowing a cold front into the city to get her back.

But that only spoke to his confidence. Confidence well placed, I had to admit.

I’d parked up the road, already out the car and heading to my trunk. Popped it open with ease and unzipped the duffle bag.

Nails. Around a thousand of them. Wonderfully ferrous and perfect for henchmen and security.

"Anything?" I asked into the radio earpiece I’d had Patty install into my helmet.

"Mmm. Satellite imaging not showing much, Miles," she said. "Those clouds aren’t being helpful, but no guards outside the grounds, aside from a couple near a helicopter pad."

Mmm. I peeled open the flaxseed bar in my pocket. Tip; when you were going to use your powers for a long time, eat something for the brain.

"The actual people were probably all inside getting ready to pull out," I said. Which meant creatures were the ones outside.

I sighed internally. The council didn’t leave security up to mere soldiers.

So every council member had three lieutenants. William was already in a jar which left Arctic and Bookworm.

Arctic was Zero’s right hand so he was most likely inside brooding, but Bookworms abilities were rather unique.

It allowed her to make whatever she reads come to life to do her bidding and as a lovesick teenager from the mental hospital she was creative.

I activated my plates underneath my suit, letting the metal plates coat my arms and body with a clicking sound.

Just an actual suit today, Polaris wasn’t here. I wasn’t there to show off, for once, and it would just get in the way.

I stood on the driveway, looking up towards the looming edifice of the hotel like some monster of wood, gilt, and frost.

I let out a long breath.

"Ready?" Patty’s voice chimed in my earpiece.

"As I’ll ever be," I said, and started walking.

You learned a lot about security systems as a villain. Part of the territory.

I’d never genuinely robbed somewhere in this world, but when you’re doing a job, every bit of information helped.

I was used to playing to security cameras, and often security footage was the only cameras that saw the battle with the hero, so you had to work them. This was the same, only in reverse.

I tracked the cameras, and when they inevitably scanned away I dashed forward.

A slight magnetic push kept them turned just long enough for me to give a lift to my plates, sending me flying soundlessly through the air and over the fence, not even brushing the very menacing spikes that peaked the walls.

I drifted down until only the tip of my boot brushed the frozen grass, and with another subtle pulse of my power I skimmed across the lawn as if I were skating over it.

I doubted the Captain had installed pressure pads under the grass, but you can never be too sure.

I reached the wall of the hotel with gratifying ease and moved along it until I found the fuse box that William had told us about.

The cold was stronger here, and I was glad for the heavy coat I’d thrown on before coming. My breath steaming the air, I wrenched the metal plating off the box with another quirk of my powers and revealed the wiring within.

From a pocket I brought out the receiver Patty had given me and I threaded it into the fuse box. It adhered with a click, cables snaking from it and plunging into the machinery like fangs of steel.

"You in?" I said.

"Of course I am!" Patty said, the clicking of keys audible through the audio feed. "Hmmm, Order security is always such a tough nut to crack."

I didn’t doubt it. Paranoia is part and parcel for villains, but the Order had the resources to hire/kidnap the skills needed to keep their lairs secure. "Can you bypass it?"

"Please!" Patty scoffed, and I could fairly see her smirking in her lab, face lit by the glow of her screen. "They’ve got nothing on me. Aaaaaand... I’m in! Oooh, they’re smart. They diffused the security grid. I’d need access to the central banks to really fix it, but I can turn off the outside alarms and the auto turrets, as well as a blackout on ranged communication."

"How long until that’s noticed?"

"Mmm... I’d love to say a while but really, as soon as I do it, they’re gonna figure it out. Sorry, Miles."

"No, you did good," I said, turning to face the bulk of the building, flexing my fists at my sides as I prepared myself for what I had to do.

I really, really didn’t want to make an enemy of the Order. They could make my life a living hell. And afterlife, if it came to that.

I whipped my head sideways as I felt something moving, and it was beautifully metallic.