Sawyer glared at the ceiling as he twirled his fork around. Things had not quite gone how he'd hoped. When he got arrested, he was supposed to go to the standard cell area, where he'd learn where the other inmates were being kept. Then, he could find his dad and make a plan to break the two of them out.
Instead, he was in solitary confinement.
Apparently this was what they'd done to Phantasma too. Maybe they were just putting all Miracle holding convicts in solitary. He'd heard some higher-up in the military say that this way made it harder for them to use their Miracles.
Except he - who Achilles had dubbed Jumbo - had super strength. If he wanted, he could probably break the door down and run off. The reason he hadn't was the same reason he'd gotten himself arrested in the first place.
Before Sawyer got his Miracle, his dad had been arrested for a fight that had broken out. His dad, being a good fighter, had come out on top and apparently that meant he couldn't be a victim. Everyone involved in the fight had been tossed in prison. Sawyer had spent the time since trying to figure out how to get his dad out.
He didn't have enough money to pay bail. Or a lawyer for that matter. So upon receiving his very own Miracle, he decided to bust his dad out himself.
After all, no one else was going to help him.
But for the past few days, he'd been stuck in a featureless cube, with only a camera, bed, toilet and sink for company. The lack of a shower was really starting to bother him. And he still had no good plan that didn't involve smashing up the entire prison.
As Sawyer spun the fork around faster and faster, the door clicked. He dropped the fork in surprise and stood. Were they coming in to retrieve his meal tray? That was new.
But when the door opened, an unfamiliar man came in. He closed the door behind him and it clicked, indicating it was locked.
The man looked at him impassively. He wasn't dressed like someone in the military. No, he looked like a regular guy with his long hair in a ponytail. The only weird thing was his face.
It was expressionless. No, that wasn't right. The muscles moved. But there was something off about him. Sawyer took a step back and raised his fists.
"Who're you supposed to be?" he asked.
"Judge, jury and executioner," the man replied flatly. "Sawyer Joseph, 25 years old, no prior criminal record. You received a Miracle and started wreaking havoc. Give me one good reason why you shouldn't die here and now."
"What?"
Sawyer's hands started shaking as he processed the words. Die? Die?
"They abolished the death penalty ages ago," he said slowly, still trying to come up with a way out. But surely the fact that there was no death penalty was a good reason he should stay alive? He definitely had to live. He still had to rescue his dad.
"A foolish government decision," the man replied. "The death penalty was for criminals whose crimes were especially bad or whose sentences were especially long. Those who would only be dead weight. This city cannot afford dead weight."
"Wait, you're ignoring the laws?" Sawyer asked in shock.
"No. I'm using the law as it was written when Arx Nubibus first took to the air. I'm willing to accept certain adjustments that have been made along the way, but the abolishment of the death penalty isn't one of them."
"So you go around just killing everyone you think won't ever change their ways? Who are you to decide that?"
The man paused, looking at him coldly. Indifferently. Sawyer didn't think he'd ever been so terrified in his life.
"I'm only taking action with regard to Miracle cases. You may not realize it, but you are a bigger threat to this city than anyone else. If I let you run amok, Arx Nubibus will lose its ability to fly in no time. Your fights have already shown potential to damage critical systems if they happened in the wrong place. I'm culling the few for the good of the many."
"Okay. What if I promise to never get into another fight again?"
"A shallow promise. You'll break it as soon as I let you go."
"I won't! Seriously. I just came in here for my dad. He got arrested unfairly a while ago, and there's no other way for me to help him. Once he's free, I'll never cause trouble again. I promise."
Sawyer's legs finally gave out and he fell to the floor, crawling back from this strange man. Was this the one who'd killed Phantasma? The old news stories filtered through his head.
It wasn't the military. It was someone far more terrifying.
"Father, hm?" the man mused. "Colby Joseph, 53. Arrested in relation to a gang fight. No prior criminal record. No known Miracle."
He looked at Sawyer, a slight change in his expression.
"I'll let you and him free - with conditions. Firstly, neither of you will ever cause trouble again. Secondly, you, Sawyer, will work for me. Thirdly, I will implant you both with a device that will allow me to kill you at a moment's notice. If you break any of my conditions, your lives are forfeit."
"Me work for you?" Sawyer asked. "What on earth could I do for you?"
"I cannot move freely through Arx Nubibus. If the military caught on to my activities, there would be...trouble. More than I care to deal with. Unfortunately, they are also quite inept at capturing problematic Gifted. Do you see my issue?"
"You can only get to them if they're in prison?"
"Not quite, but more or less. I can't wander the streets indiscriminately and act how I please. Thus, these Gifted continue to cause problems. Someday they'll do something no one can fix. Not even me. So you'll help me in capturing and eliminating these problematic Gifted. I won't ask for too much. Just location tracking. If you feel your life is in danger, you can pull out. If you can help with arrests as well, I'd be quite pleased. Once they're in the prison I can take care of them at my leisure.
"I'll send you a list of everything I know on these problematic persons. Use that to isolate them. If you can't get them arrested, send me their location and I can handle the rest. I have many tools at my disposal."
"Just who are you?" Sawyer asked.
"Classified." The man smiled eerily.
"What if I refuse to work for you? What if I just want to live a peaceful life with my dad not in prison?"
"Good question. Depends how much you manage to contribute to society. If you manage to do as much or more good than I think you would if you worked for me, I'd let it slide. But if I think you're better off helping me, I'll give you a warning."
"What if I joined the Legion?" Surely that would be better than this. He'd proven how strong he was. The Legion would be happy to have him.
But the man just scoffed.
"Those idiots are just as much of a problem. Don't you see what's happening? The military is losing trust. That Legion is undermining them. They refuse to work with the military, which only accelerates that loss of trust. And as they are now, the military can't effectively deal with Gifted criminals. When trust in the military vanishes, people will feel emboldened to commit more crime. Public order will collapse. And the Legion isn't big enough to stop it."
"Okay, no Legion. Just...be a spy?"
"Help me out as my eyes and ears. And remember that I hold your life in my hands." The man pulled a black object out of his pocket. It looked vaguely like a raygun, but the barrel didn't have any glass in it. It was also smaller.
"What is that?" The man raised it and pointed it at Sawyer.
"A gun. One shot and a bullet goes straight through your skull. Of course, if you take my deal I'll make your death less messy. That implant I mentioned will just electrocute your heart, causing it to stop and leading to your death. Ah yes, I forgot the fourth condition. You can't tell anyone about me. Anyone."
Sawyer stared down the barrel of the 'gun'. Weren't there things like that in the old movies? They shot a physical projectile instead of a beam of light, and were much more dangerous. What in the hell was this guy doing with one? Wasn't that antiquated technology that no longer existed?
"So, Sawyer? What do you say? Work for me?"
Thoughts spun through his head at a speed he didn't think possible. But in the end, there was only one good choice for him.
"Deal."
The words came out hoarsely, but the man smiled creepily and put the gun away.
"Excellent. I'll see you tomorrow morning."
What had Sawyer gotten himself into?
