Chapter 75 Problems.

Chapter 75: 75 Problems.

"Are you mad at me?" Rhea asked after the silence had stretched for a moment.

I tapped my fingers against the steering wheel. "...No," I said eventually. "No, I’m not mad. I’m a little annoyed you neglected to mention that going to a university lecture might end with me fighting a giant robot ape, but I’m not mad."

"Really?" She raised a brow a me.

"Yes."

Her face got weirdly closer to mine. "You’re sure?"

"Yes."

"Like, really for real absolutely—"

"Yes, Rhea! I’m sure."

She visibly deflated, all the tension leaving her shoulders as she sagged back into her seat. "Thanks, Miles. Really. I mean it." She hesitated before giving me another nervous glance. "But... what are you going to do now?"

"Well, first we get you back to the chalet," I said. "Then you’re going to start putting some proper defenses around the place. You think Delirium could be tracking the car?"

Rhea shook her head. "I doubt it. Delirium is kind of terrible when it comes to following through. He’s arrogant as hell, so he probably never bothered with a backup plan. He likely assumed his monsters would handle you."

More fool him.

Still, I wasn’t stupid enough to think that meant we were in the clear.

I needed to know exactly who the hell this guy was.

After the elaborate little trap we’d just escaped, I seriously doubted beating up his oversized dog and mechanical monkey was going to convince him to leave us alone. He’d come looking for Rhea again eventually, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to sit around and wait for him to make the next move.

"Right," I said, thinking it over. "I’ll see what I can find. I’ve got a few contacts I can lean on, see if they can dig up anything useful."

"I’ll search the net too," Rhea said. "I might be able to find something." She paused, then added more quietly, "And, just so we’re clear... you’re not kicking me out, right?"

"Of course not."

Rhea let out a squeal of pure relief before throwing herself across the center console and wrapping her arms around my neck.

"Thank you! Thank you, Miles! You have no idea what that means to me!"

"Driving! Rhea, I’m driving!" I shouted, wrestling with the steering wheel as the car started drifting toward the opposite lane.

"Whoops! Sorry, boss." She quickly pulled back, planting a quick kiss on my cheek before settling into her seat again with a giggle. "But seriously, I’m really relieved. I thought you were going to throw me out the moment you found out who was after me."

"What? Just because some superarms dealer has decided to hunt you down with genetically modified horrors straight out of mankind’s worst nightmares?" I glanced at her. "Rhea, honestly. Who exactly do you think I am?"

She giggled and swatted my arm. "That’s my man."

I gave her a crooked grin, mostly because she seemed to need it.

Still, this was bad.

Delirium coming after us was going to cause problems. Lots of them.

Normal arms dealers were already bad enough. Arms dealers who specialized in supers were an entirely different breed of headache.

You weren’t just dealing with guns and explosives anymore. You had death rays, giant robots, mutagenic drugs, cybernetic monsters, and God knew what else waiting to ruin your day.

And judging by everything Rhea had told me, Delirium wasn’t some small-time nutjob selling homemade laser pistols out of the back of a van.

He was a serious player.

I kept a loose eye on the superarms scene, even if I rarely had any reason to get involved with it. Honestly, that suited me just fine. Rhea handled my equipment, while the actual heroes usually dealt with the people selling weapons to supervillains.

Both capes and streeters got dragged into those fights regularly.

Hell, half the streeters running around Metropolis were probably the result of some mad scientist’s experiment going horribly wrong.

That didn’t mean I ignored the underworld, though. You never knew when something happening in one corner of it would eventually spill over into your own business.

And judging by the way things were going, something told me I was about to get a whole lot more familiar with the superarms trade.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t much I could do about that now.

I drummed my fingers against the steering wheel as we left the city behind, the buildings gradually giving way to thick stretches of trees. The highway eventually narrowed into winding roads that climbed toward the mountains, taking us back toward my so-called "lair."

By the time we reached the gate and the security system slowly opened it with an automatic creak, I’d already worked out my first move.

I pulled to a stop and climbed out, fishing my phone from my jacket before dialing a number.

It rang several times before someone finally answered.

"Eyyyy!" Steve’s familiar lazy drawl came through the phone. "My bud! My friend! How’s it hanging?"

"Could be better," I said. "Listen, can you arrange a meeting between me and Arman Glint?"

Rhea immediately looked over at me, surprise flashing across her face.

I couldn’t blame her.

The last person I wanted to involve myself with was Arman Glint and the Death Rumble.

I had nothing against people paying good money to watch superpowered lunatics beat the living shit out of each other. That was perfectly respectable entertainment as far as I was concerned.

The problem was everything happening underneath the Ring.

There was a lot more going on there than simple fight fixing, and most of it was considerably less pleasant. But that was precisely why I was calling.

If anyone knew what Delirium was doing, there was a good chance Arman did.

"Eyyy? You want Arman?" Steve sounded more alert now. "Miles, my man, something going on?"

"I’ve got a bit of a problem with a superarms dealer," I said. "I’d rather get it sorted before it turns into something bigger."

"Sure, sure. Anything you say, my man. I’ll see what I can do and get back to you."

"Thanks." I ended the call and slipped the phone back into my jacket.

"You sure that’s a good idea, Miles?" Rhea asked, looking uneasy.

"It’s the best option we’ve got right now." I nodded toward the chalet. "Come on. Let’s get inside."

Rhea hurried ahead while I followed behind. Once the security system scanned her, the doors unlocked and opened, allowing us inside.

The difference was almost immediate.

I could practically watch the tension drain out of her. Her shoulders dropped, her posture loosened, and she seemed to finally remember how to breathe properly.

Whatever had happened back there had shaken her a lot more than she’d let on.

I stepped closer and slipped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her against my side.

"Hey," I said. "It’s going to be okay. We’ll figure this out."

Rhea stiffened for a moment before relaxing against me, resting her head against my shoulder.

"Mmm. Yeah. I guess so."

Then she looked up at me with a familiar mischievous grin, and I immediately knew the moment of sincerity had lasted long enough.

"So... does this mean I can finally hook up the Octoporian?"

I sighed.

Things had changed, after all.

"Fine."

Rhea squealed and threw her arms around me again, pressing herself against my chest. "Thanks, Miles! I knew you’d see the light! You won’t regret it!"

Wouldn’t I?

I had a strong feeling I already would.

But there was no taking it back now.

Whether I liked it or not, there was going to be a doomsday device installed in my house, and somehow I had a feeling that was going to be the least of my problems.