Casting Call: Stomp

Garrett Vos has a limited pool of young actors that can play him. A mixed kid with a crazy afro isn't exactly the most common casting call in Hollywood or anywhere else. But one young actor made a name for himself with that look. And while he spent a bit too much time singing and dancing in High School Musical, Corbin Bleu certainly has some acting chops. He would make a fine addition to the cast of the mythical Walking Shadows movie.

ICONS Character Profile: Stomp

Name: Stomp

Real Name: Garrett Vos

Origin: Transformed

First Appearance: Book One, Chapter 1

 

ABILITIES

Prowess 5

Coordination 3

Strength 9

Intellect 4

Awareness 5

Willpower 2

 

Stamina 11

Determination 2

 

SPECIALTIES

Athletics

Power (leaping)

Wrestling

 

POWERS

Danger Sense 5

Leaping 6

-Blast (area affect only)

Regeneration 4

 

QUALITIES

Connections: Riverside Community Center

Dude

Identity: Community Leader

 

CHALLENGES

Enemy (mysterious organization)

Personal (guilt over father’s death)

Weakness

 

Garrett Vos is nothing if not forward. The son of a professional skateboarder and a professional ballet dancer, he learned very early in life that modesty wouldn’t get him anywhere. But something he never did have despite his parentage was much coordination or agility. Garrett was a clumsy kid and much to the disappointment of his parents, showed little interest in either of their pursuits. Instead he focused all his time on video gaming. This was a cause of much discord in the Vos household as Garrett grew up.

After the horrible circumstance that gave him his powers, Garrett set out to change his life and use his new abilities to help his local community. But like his father and mother before him, his interests didn’t lead him down a heroic path but instead in to a more community friendly path. As a local entertainer and community leader, he uses his powers to help teach local youths lessons about life and find ways to improve the low income Riverside area of the city.

Walking Shadows Book 2 Chapter 10. Rosa

Rosa knew baseball. It wasn’t like she never saw the sport in Guadalajara. Honestly, it was everywhere. But that didn’t mean she ever got much of a chance to play it. Or any chance at all really. Her parents rarely focused on enjoyable family activities. Their focus rarely swerved from their narrow-minded view of justice. It definitely didn’t stray to something as casually fun as swinging a bat at a ball.

Now that she faced down the pitching machine, Rosa couldn’t help but be angry at that. Baseball was fun. Lots of fun. And she missed out on it for all these years.

As she continued to wing, it became easier to hit the ball, despite constant variances in the speed and height of each throw. Her control also improved. She didn’t have any problem hitting the fast balls, but as the pitches kept coming, she quickly learned to react to them without the blessing of super speed.

“You’re sure you did this none?” Whitey said.

“Never,” Rosa said.

“Well you are a natural, girl. You could play in any ladies league I’ve ever seen. Maybe even cross the line, play minor league ball. With some training, make it to the top.”

Rosa gave him a smile “I don’t think so. It wouldn’t be—”

The back wall suddenly exploded.

Rosa moved as soon as her eye caught the first sign of the damage, only a thousandth of a second after the damage began. She dropped the bat as she saw the fire slowly bloom. She flashed towards Whitey as she saw the first bits of debris fly towards him.

She grabbed Whitey as the deadly shrapnel flew towards him and her. She pulled the old ballplayer back and away, careful not to whiplash his neck. She dodged the debris as she turned back towards the entrance of the batting cage and Stomp.

Garrett’s eyes were wide as he watched the blooming explosion. At his speed, he would only now be realizing its implication. He was watching his own death.

Rosa pushed Whitey up to her right shoulder. He was heavy, but she knew that without the cancer he probably would have been twice as hefty.

She pushed out her left shoulder as she neared Garrett. She needed to make this count or they would all be dead.

She slammed hard into Garrett’s chest. Her velocity was near Mach One and she knew the impact would probably snap a few ribs. But she also knew it was the only way to get him to move.

Garrett flew back as Rosa kept running with all her might.

The shockwave of the explosion caught her a moment later. Rosa and Whitey sprawled forward at the wave of the force struck her. But even as she fell, she realized they were clear of the deadly debris.

Garrett was on the floor in front of them. He clutched at his side, but otherwise seemed all right.

Whitey had a nasty scratch on his forehead. It bled, but not enough to worry. She knew there was no major artery to worry about there. He found the blood with the back of his hand as she looked up at her. Then he looked past her at the batting cage.

Whitey said something but the echo in her ears made him impossible to understand. It just sounded like a different ringing than the other bells in her ears.

“I don’t understand,” she said. She couldn’t make out her own words either. She knew from experience it would be several minutes before her hearing returned to anything close to normal.

Stomp stood. He rubbed his ribs, but otherwise showed no sign of injury. She thanked God that they were at least still alive. But she couldn’t begin to think what happened here.

Doppelganger’s allies seemed broken. Could they have somehow regrouped? It didn’t make sense for them to do so quite so fast. Nor did killing anyone seem to fit their plans. Whatever they wanted, those men did not seem to want to kill them.

Stomp grabbed her by the shoulder. He leaned in and yelled in to her ear. “We need to make sure everyone is safe!”

Despite his volume, she could only guess at some of his words. Her head ached and she assumed with all likelihood she was concussed. It wasn’t the first time. She hoped she had seen the last, but her lot seemed set to move her into danger again and again.

Stomp pointed back towards the café they entered through, then at Whitey. She understood the signal well enough. She bent down and lifted the old man up again. Stomp turned to go farther in to the facility as she helped Whitey towards the door.

Rosa’s head started to clear as she ushered Whitey through the door. The ringing was down to a dull roar. She could hear flames crackling alone with the trademark smells of the smoke and flames.

A pair of police cars were already in front of the building, as were the patrons from the café area. The police officers were ushering fire trucks through a wave of gawkers and onlookers. The fools were so enamored with getting a glance at the destruction, they would let Whitey’s Dugout just burn.

She helped Whitey over to one of the ladies she recognized as she first entered. Her name was Wendy according to her Dugout nametag and it was followed by “assistant manager”, which made her at least the closest thing to the person in charge of the staff.

“Wendy, help me.” The girl’s attention turned to Rosa for the first time. Then it turned to Whitey.

“Oh my god, is he alright?

She ran to help Rosa carry Whitey to the hood of the nearest cop car. They helped him sit up against the bumper.

“He should be all right,” Rosa told her. “See if you can find something to cover that wound on his head. And make sure he doesn’t do anything foolish.”

“What about you? What are you going to do?”

“Whoever set off the bomb might still be in there. So is my friend. I have to go back inside.”

“Are you crazy? The place is on fire. The firemen—””They can’t do what I can do. Keep Whitey safe, all right?”

The woman nodded.

Rosa turned back to the building. Her head ached. Her concentration would be less than perfect. She took a pair of deep breaths, holding the last. She would need to be careful about breathing inside.

She braced herself to run.

Whitey’s Dugout exploded into a massive fireball. She sprawled to the ground at the impact, but her eyes remained on the building as it burned, a raging inferno that nothing could survive.

“Garrett! Garrett!”

Walking Shadows Book 2 Chapter 6. Stomp

The River City Pier was once one of the busiest ports on the Mississippi, shipping necessary freight both to and from the burgeoning west. But its heyday was nearly one hundred years before, in an era where river transport was far more convenient than it was in modern America.

The Pier remained alive now as a tourist attraction. While several historical sites littered the area, the Pier was mostly just an expansive complex of shops and mini-malls. Even in the late fall air, hundreds walked the Pier in search of anything from shirts to fresh vegetables to high priced coffee. Anything you needed in River City could be found here, even a few things less legal than others.

Stomp always loved the Pier. As a kid, he discovered a couple great game shops here and affection for it only grew as he did. As a teenager, he would use the area to meet girls. The beautiful people of River City were often on display both working and playing on the Pier.

As they walked through the crowd and browsed the few street shops still open, Rosa took in the Pier with a casual grace. Stomp new many folks new to it were often overwhelmed by the area, but she showed no sign of worry in the large crowd.

“What do you think?”

“It reminds me of the street markets in Guadalajara, but not as busy.”

Stomp couldn’t help but laugh.

“What? Did I fumble my English?”

Stomp shook his head. “You just always seem to have a way to surprise me. That’s all. But come on. I still have something to show you.”

Stomp couldn’t help but catch Rosa’s glances his ways as they walked. They weren’t particularly subtle. They seemed almost like nervous ticks, but he realized it wasn’t just a tick after the first dozen or so. With her powers a momentary glance could take only a fraction of a millisecond. She was probably trying to move slowly in order to look more natural.

“What is it? Is something on your mind?”

“What do you mean?”

“You keep giving me the glance. I thought you might have something on your mind. Something you want to talk about.”

“You saw that? I mean I—” She stopped short, obviously flustered.

“I noticed,” Stomp said. “You can talk to me though. If I’m anything, it’s a good listener.”

“It-it’s nothing.”

Stomp stopped walking and met her eyes. “You’re lying.”

“No, I—”

He tilted his head, made it clear he knew she was just making excuses.

Her cheeks turned red. “I’m sorry. It’s just so embarrassing.”

“What?”

“It’s just that I think you’re kind of cute. I’m sorry. That sounds so stupid.”

Stomp laughed. “You don’t have anything to be sorry about. I’m flattered actually. I don’t really set out to attract the opposite sex, but it’s flattering that I still can.”

She pushed a stray strand of hair out of her face. Stomp could see she was feeling self-conscious now, but still had something on her mind.

“Ask it,” he said.

“Ask what?”

“Whatever you’re thinking.”

“It’s just—why don’t you have any interest.”

Stomp shrugged his shoulders. “I was given these powers by a group of alien monsters. They took me apart and rebuilt me. And ever since that time, I’ve been different. I mean, everything is where it is supposed to be, more or less. But I really don’t feel the desire anymore. I know when I see someone attractive, but nothing makes me feel any real desire for them.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Stomp said. “I’ve lived a strange life and I’ve lost far worse things than my sex drive. He paused. He realized he couldn’t just leave it there, but he didn’t want to turn this conversation dark. “But thank you. You’re a beautiful woman and I’m sure someday, you will make someone very happy.”

“Someday,” Rosa said. “We’ll see. I’m already twenty-two. In the neighborhood I came from, that practically makes me an old maid.”

“You’re anything but that.”

“I guess.”

Stomp took her around the final major corner, passing on of his favorite schwarma stands, still open while most of its nearby competitors were already closed for the season. His stomach grumbled at the mix of meat and spices that filled his nostrils. But he knew they would have time enough for that afterwards.

He started down the last block to their destination.

“Here it is,” Stomp said proudly.

Rosa looked at the building at the end of the block. She studied it for several moments. “Is this all of it?”

“Yeah, isn’t it awesome?”

Rosa looked at Whitey’s Dugout and scratched her head. She seemed confused.

I guess it doesn’t look like much from the outside, Stomp thought. But its awesomeness will be apparent inside.

“Come on. Trust me.” He offered her his hand. She took it with no hesitation.

“I trust you.”

He ran with her through the front door. Inside the slightly dilapidated white structure, a small café filled the front area. A half dozen televisions showed baseball games, all highlights from the previous season.

She marveled at it for a moment, but he pulled her past it.

“We can eat later. We have some place else to be.”

He pulled her down the short patch through to the back of the facility. Here was the highlight of the whole place: the batting cages.

Whitey Davi was at the pay station himself. He was thinner than the last time Stomp saw him. His chemo was going well, but his weight clearly waned under the treatment. Still he smiled when he saw Garrett.

“Little brah,” Whitey said. His teeth were bright white against his nearly ebony skin. He still spoke with a hint of a Jamaican accent despite it being nearly forty years since he last lived in his home country. “A long time no see, kiddo.”

Stomp realized he hadn’t yet introduced Rosa. He quickly made them for both his old friend and his new. Whitey took her hand and gave it a friendly shake, followed by a regal bow in front of her.

“Your name is really Whitey?”

Whitey laughed. “You’re clearly not a baseball fan. Yeah, they call me Whitey on account of my name being Whitman. It’s a play on my looks and a bit of a comparison to old Whitey Ford. I took the name as an honor.”

“I see.”

Whitey laughed again. “You ready to take a few swings?”

Rosa looked a bit awkward in a batting helmet. She seemed a little bit too worried as she clutched the bat tightly.

Whitey smiled broadly as he watched her step to the plate. Stomp knew he enjoyed playing around with new batters, just as he did when he pitched for the majors two decades ago. She stared down the ball machine.

“I’m not quite sure what to do,” she said.

Stomp walked up to her. He reached around her quickly and grabbed her arms. He brought them back and up, positioned her in a good batting stance.

“Okay, all you got to do is wait for the ball to come. Stay loose, wait for it and smash it into the net as hard as you can. The readout will tell you how fast your ball flies.”

“That’s all?”

“That’s it.”

Stomp stepped back. Whitey stood by the controls. Stomp gave him a nod and Whitey turned on the machine.

“You can let the first one go by to get the feel—”

The ball flew out. Rosa swung at the ball with ease. The bat crashed in to it. It all moved so fast Stomp thought the bat had teleported.

The ball flew into the net and blasted right through it. It smashed against the far wall, leaving a dent.

Rosa’s cheeks grew red. “Sorry.”

Sorry?” Whitey said. “You’re a natural, kid!”

Walking Shadows Book 2 Chapter 3. Rosa

It felt strange walking through the streets of River City. It felt too normal. Rosa couldn’t quite understand why that bothered her. She came to this city to find normality, but now that she was simulating it, it felt strange.

Perhaps it was the adrenaline still charging from her escape. It felt strange to her that little more than an hour earlier she was trapped. Now she was free and alive, even if this new circle of “friends” left her wary. The man with her though certainly seemed different than the others.

Garrett Vos walked with her towards her apartment. He was quiet for most of the walk, but friendly and outgoing enough. He explained his powers, his nickname and went on about how much he loved River City. Rosa wasn’t sure what to make of him, but his big, fuzzy hair was adorable and she could see how that smile could melt any woman’s heart.

Once they reached her apartment, it took just a few minutes to get a new key from her super. Garrett waited in the hull as she took a very quick shower.

She cleaned up in a matter of seconds. She quickly donned a pair of blue jeans, a modest blouse and a new set of the special running shoes she wore. She ran her brush through her hair a few hundred times, then tied it in a simple ponytail.

She stopped to look at herself in the mirror. She looked good, but not too good. She found this Garrett attractive, but she barely knew him. She did not want to give him the wrong impression about her. She wanted to wow him, not make him think she was some cheap trollop.

She nodded her approval to her reflection before she ran to the door.

“Ready,” she said as she hit the hallway.

“What? It’s been like two minutes. How did you—?” He stopped himself. “Super speed, right.”

She smiled at him. She quickly—but not super-quickly—locked her door.

“Where are we going?”

The last answer Rosa expected from her question was a bus stop. But that is exactly where Garrett took her. He wouldn’t tell her anything about their destination. As they waited for the transportation to arrive, she could only stand still and tap her foot impatiently.

“Are you trying to wear a hole in the cement?”

Garrett’s words made her realize her foot was beating against the ground at superhuman speeds. She forced herself to stop.

“Sorry. Patience isn’t my greatest virtue.”

“I can’t say that is too surprising, all things considered.” Garrett said it with a smile, instantly taking any cut out of his wit. “But the bus is the easiest way back to my neighborhood, unless you suddenly want to lift me up and carry me.”

She looked him up and down. They didn’t call this man Stomp for nothing. His thighs and calves were massive hunks of meat. She suspected each of his legs weighed as much as she did. She wouldn’t get more than a few blocks with him in tow.

“The bus then. Why would not take the trains?”

“I’m not a big fan of going underground,” Garrett said. “I would prefer to avoid it by any means necessary.”

His eyes drifted away from her, down the street. But he seemed trapped in an unwanted memory. Rosa stopped herself from asking anymore questions. This was clearly a sore subject for Garrett and this was supposed to be an upbeat afternoon.

If she could put El Sanguijuelo out of her mind, it wasn’t her place to force him to talk about something uncomfortable for him, even if she was curious about him. But not wanting to ask the question just caused a long silence. And that was no more comforting for either of them.

“My old neighborhood was a slum,” Rosa said. “Crime was everywhere. Children disappeared without even a report to la policia. The police might have been in on some of the disappearances after all. My parents tried to make a difference there, but those streets…it was not easy. Guadalajara was not a nice place.”

“I’m sorry,” Garrett said.

“It is all right. We moved away from there when I was eight. We moved in to the center of the city, into a shining tower the likes of which I had never imagined. I went from next to nothing to every amenity I could imagine. I wouldn’t see those streets again until they gave me my first costume.”

“After that, I went with my parents many times to the old neighborhood. But it was different. Dressed up like a flashy hero, no one looked at me like I was one of them anymore. Instead I was just another outsider not to be trusted.”

Rosa couldn’t help but drift back to the memories of that time. She could still see the fear in the eyes of children she once played alongside.

Garrett’s hand found her shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” she said. “It was a long time ago. And if it wasn’t for that, I might still be there, still wasting my life pretending to be something I’m not. I’m not a metahero. I just want to be a person.”

“Powers never make life easier,” Garrett said. “If I’ve learned anything in all this, it is that. Life doesn’t always make life easier though. I wish it all came with a manual, you know?”

Rosa smiled. Garrett smiled back at her. Rosa found herself relaxed with this man—more at ease than she felt with anyone in months. She wished she could figure out why. He was cute, but she knew better than to just let any cute boy sweep her off her feet. She wondered if he had some hidden power.

I must be careful.

“Hey, there’s the bus,” he said. She turned to see the large white rectangle slowly pulling in to the stop.

Rosa found that she loved the River City Metro Transport. After so many years separated from normal everyday people, she suddenly found herself surrounded by them. An old woman in front of the bus chattered incessantly at the bus driver, an African American man that only half listened to her nonstop droning. An old beard man, dressed in worn military fatigues, spoke to no one in particular. A twenty-something girl, tattoos covering her necks and arms and her hair worn in gelled spiked on her head, spoke loudly into a cellular phone. A large woman, at least three hundred pounds, argued with a small child no more than seven or eight, perhaps a grandchild.

“You’re staring,” Garrett said.

“It’s all so interesting. I’m not used to being around people. I mean normal people. After I left the old neighborhood, everyone in the place I moved to wore a costume. My parents, my ‘aunts’ and ‘uncles’, the random people we regularly fought. Outside a few police contacts, I barely ever got to even talk to someone without powers. It still feels strange to walk around the streets without a costume, let alone be accepted as just a normal person on the street.”

Stomp shook his head. “All my life, I just wanted to be noticed. My entire community service bit makes me proud, but even I admit I love the glory I get from it. The adulation and the fame. And here you are running from what I’ve always wanted.”

“I—”

“I don’t want it to sound like I’m judging you,” he said. Rosa felt her body suddenly relax at those words. “You made it clear you’ve had moments in your past that framed your decision. I’m not going to pry in to them. But I just found it amusing, the die—what’s the word?”

“Dichotomy?”

“And you speak English better than me too.” He laughed. “But yeah, dichotomy. It’s strange we end up together on this bus when we seem to be heading in exactly opposite directions.”

“That can be blamed on Doppelganger and his allies.”

“Well, yeah. But that’s not what I’m getting at. I’m getting to the whole opposite direction, but both end up here and not thing. Fate, you know?”

She shook her head. “I do not believe in fate. But I do believe God works in mysterious ways.”

The bus pulled to another stop. A large black man, nearly as wide as the aisle, climbed aboard. Loud music boomed from the phone he held.

“Is it always this loud on public transit?”

“Pretty much,” Garrett said.

“How much longer?”

“Awhile. You should probably sit back and try to enjoy the music.”

“I think you and I may have different definitions of ‘enjoy’ and ‘music’. Where are we going?”

Garrett smirked. “You’ll see.”

Walking Shadows Book 2 Chapter 1. Ian

Rosa lunged at Ian. She moved at blinding speed. Ian could only watch as she came towards him, faster than he could react. The shock of what he did—of Doppelganger’s suddenly emaciated form—was too much.

She didn’t strike fast enough. Ian watched Marilyn move, or rather flow, faster than he could ever imagine. It flowed up and between himself and the speedster to cut off her path.

Rosa struck Marilyn with every ounce of speed and strength, but it was like striking gum. Ian saw each blow as it struck Marilyn’s body, but her elastic skin only absorbed it with a ripple of amorphous flesh. Nothing Rosa did could slip past Marilyn’s super-elastic skin. Marilyn body flowed down and over Rosa, even as the speedster delivered more ineffective strikes. Within seconds, Marilyn’s body wrapped around Rosa’s, locking her in place like a vice.

Ian could only watch. He still couldn’t begin to understand how he beat Doppelganger. How he left Doppelganger unmoving on the floor, unconscious or worse.

“Calm down,” Cyrus said. “Ian isn’t your enemy. He brought us here to rescue you.”

“Rescue me? I know El Sanguijuelo’s mark. That beast has killed hundreds. You think he’s here to rescue us? He is a bloodsucker, a destroyer of metahumans around the world. He wants to kill us all. It is his nature.”

“The Leech,” Stomp said. “That’s what El Sanguijuelo means, right? Is that how he stopped Doppelganger, some kind of energy draining power?”

“Your supposed friend is the greatest murder of metahumans in the history of the world.”

All eyes fell on Ian. He could feel them looking at him, but his focus remained down in front of him. He stared at his hands, still unsure of what power they held. He said nothing. He didn’t know what to say.

“Ian, are you alright?” Stomp’s voice echoed through Ian’s head, but he didn’t—couldn’t—respond.

I’m not sure if I’ll ever be all right again, he thought. I feel more alive now than I ever thought possible. I feel as strong as a dozen men, like I could run a thousand miles. It’s wonderful, so amazing.

So intoxicating.

“Ian!”

Alli grabbed him by the shoulder, pushed him. “Answer us. What’s going on?”

“I—I don’t know. I killed him, didn’t I? He’s dead. I just—I just wanted him to stop. And then—then it was all so easy. All so natural. I—what am I?”

“You’re a monster,” Rosa spit. “A creature of pure evil that deserves only destruction. If these people were smart, they would kill you right now.”

“Hold on,” Stomp said. “Everyone is way too hot now. Way too much adrenaline flowing through here. We need to get to the bottom of this, but we sure as heck ain’t killing nobody. Rosa, we barely know you, but Ian has saved my life. He brought us all here in the first place. If he wanted us dead, he wouldn’t have gathered us all here. He would have picked us off one by one. But he didn’t.”

“I don’t understand,” Rosa said. “He’s a killer. He leaves no one he touches alive. There’s a reason why we know so little about him, just a few accounts from normal humans that happen to see his crimes. But I would recognize his signature anywhere. He leaves all his victims the same way.”

“And I’m telling you, he let us live. Obviously. Make of it what you will, but I say it makes Ian my friend no matter what he is or what he was. We will find out the truth either way. We will help Ian discover who he used to be before his amnesia. I promised I would help Ian and that is what I plan to do. Now if you want to keep fighting, that’s fine. But you will have to go through all of us. You’re fast, but you’re not that fast. I don’t want to fight, but it’s up to you, Rosa. Make your move.”

Marilyn released her grip on the speedster and resumed the form of her namesake movie idol. She slowly backed away. Ian watched Rosa’s line of vision move back and forth between Stomp and himself. Ian braced himself for her strike.

She dropped her hands and shook her head. “I don’t want a fight. I came here to leave all that behind. But I still don’t trust that man.”

“What would you have me do?” Ian said. While Stomp’s words helped make him feel like he at least had friends, he couldn’t get over the feeling that Rosa was all too right about him. He was a monster, but how or why was he this thing?

“I wish I could give you answers, Rosa. But I really don’t have any memories of my time before this Lab. I could have been this Leech of yours. Or I could have just been a normal kid. Now I’m scared to ever go back to that, in case you are right. So what would you have me do?”

Ian panted, out of breath. He realized the rage he felt inside boiled out in his words as the others looked at him. But his focus remained on Rosa.

She just shook her head.

“This is getting us nowhere,” Cyrus said, finally breaking his silence. “We’re going to manage to nothing but get arrested if we stay here and argue.”

“That’s strange,” Alli said. “Where are the cops? They can’t be this slow.”

“Unless they were paid off,” Stomp said. “Maybe Ian was right about that too.”

Ian said nothing. There seemed no point now. He couldn’t even begin to consider his life, let alone anything else. Only the gnawing sensation that he was a beast, a horrible killer of dozens, maybe hundreds of people.

“I think it’s time we split up,” Cyrus said.

He turned to Rosa. “This Leech, could he steal energy, life, whatever from humans?”

Rosa shook her head.

“All right then.” Cyrus turned to Alli. “I would like you to take Ian in the Spirit-Mobile. Since you are a non-meta, he won’t be able to hurt you. Take him somewhere secure: your headquarters, your apartment, whatever.”

“We can see what we can dig up on this El Sanguijuelo,” Alli said. Ian saw she already had her cell out. She quickly entered and sent a text. Ian wondered what the heck it could be about.

“Rosa, I know you’re new to town,” Cyrus continued. “I want you to go with Stomp. He knows River City. He can show you around and keep close to you in case more of these goons are out there. We still don’t know what they wanted any of us for, but it couldn’t have been good.”

“What about me?” Marilyn said.

“You can come with me. I have a few ideas I want to cover with you.”

She looked around the destruction and back into the office.

“I hoped we could find out something about where I came from here.”

“We don’t need to find it here,” Alli said. “I had Peach copy Ian’s flash drive while he was out. She’s working on the decryption now. Hopefully we will find out what they know before they can come after us again.”

“That will work,” Cyrus said. “You and Ian can get to work on that.”

“I—” Ian looked at the others. He wanted to say something to comfort them, to allay their fears of him. But he didn’t even know how to calm himself.

“I’m sorry,” he finally said. “I didn’t mean to kill him.”

“We know,” Marilyn said. She looked past him, to Alli. “Take good care of Alli for me, okay?”

Ian could only nod as Alli grabbed his arm. She pulled him towards the door and away from the others. Away from everything.