Shades of Gray - By Jackie Kessler & Caitlin Kittredge Page 0,19
the next two and a half hours.”
“Sir,” Jamie said politely, “I’m afraid Angelica must fulfill her duties to the Squadron and the people of New Chicago …”
“She must also fulfill her duties to her corporate sponsor.” The rep sniffed, looking down at the Runner. “Unless Angelica would prefer that Glamique cancel its contract with Corp-Co, I suggest that you remember which of her duties are a priority. There are a million other little superheroes flitting about this city of ours. Get one of them to do the dirty work.”
That last bit annoyed Holly. Fighting for justice and the good of innocent normals wasn’t something to scoff at. Patrol was boring, but it was a necessity. It wasn’t like the bad guys advertised when they were about to strike. Usually.
Jamie, flustered, turned to Holly for help.
She smiled soothingly at him, pushing only a little bit of Light into it. As a rule, she didn’t like to glam her Runners too much—they tended to get a bit dopey if she overdid it, and a dopey Runner did her no good. “It’s okay, Jamie. Go ahead and comm in that Vixen should go ahead without me. If there’s a dire emergency, of course, I’ll come running. Okay?” she added, throwing a meaningful look at the Glamique rep—and this time, pushing significantly more.
“Oh, absolutely,” the rep said happily. “If you’re needed, you’re needed. We at Glamique understand you have a responsibility to the city.”
Holly grinned. “Well then. Let’s finish up here so that I can get back to heroing.”
Three hours later, Holly strolled into Squadron headquarters. She peeled off her cape and handed it to Jamie—not the same Jamie as before; another Runner, this one a girl—and said her hellos to the handful of other Squadron soldiers lounging about the rec room. She paused to watch Speed Demon go a round of Ping-Pong with Velocity until she nearly got whiplash, then she bantered with some of Team Delta. Nothing wrong with encouraging them. They got a little boost to their confidence, and Holly got to practice her social skills. Everybody won.
In the middle of a rather inane conversation with a rookie hero saddled with the unfortunate designation of Slimer, a pair of arms circled around her waist from behind.
“Holly,” a man’s voice purred. “You’re looking sexy as ever.”
Smiling, she turned to embrace Hal Gibbons, code-name Doctor Hypnotic. “And you’re a sweet talker, as usual.”
By Jehovah, he was so gorgeous, between his black, black eyes that you could drown in, his dark hair that was a bit too long, and his jaw that was chiseled enough you could cut your fingers if you tried to trace it. To say nothing of his physique. Some women didn’t find muscular men attractive. Those women, Holly decided, were utterly insane.
He pressed his lips to hers, and they shared a slow, delicious kiss.
Slimer coughed and cleared his throat. “Um, we were in the middle of a conversation, Hypnotic.”
Holly felt Hal’s mouth shift into a smile, then he broke the kiss. “You’re done now.” He said it in a tone that Holly recognized all too well—he was using his Mental power.
“Now go back to your quarters and have a nice nap.”
Holly didn’t need to see Slimer to know he was already on his way to the residential wing of Squadron headquarters. She frowned up at Hal. “You shouldn’t do that.”
“Do what?” he said innocently.
“Mess with his mind.” That she, too, messed with people’s minds didn’t bother her; pushing a bit of Light-inspired bliss wasn’t the same thing as forcing people to see and remember things that weren’t real.
“I’m not,” Hal said. “I’m just giving him a picture of a different reality. Everyone can use a little escape from the craziness of the real world.”
One that didn’t include Slimer speaking to Angelica. Sometimes, Hal’s possessive streak drove her a little crazy. “And what if I’d been talking with a group of people? Would you have given them all such an escape?”
“So that I could kiss you whenever I wanted? Oh yes.” He did something with his fingers, and Holly’s belly fluttered.
She shook her head, but couldn’t help smiling. “You’re a rogue, Doctor Hypnotic.”
“And you’re ravishing, Angelica.” He bent down to whisper in her ear. “Care to come with me to my quarters?”
“Mmm. I think—”
“Excuse me, Angelica?” That was the female Jamie, standing in the doorway.