Slickcoat pt. 14

The ID. was left out conspicuously.

Gregg "Flamibus" Norman.
Height 5'11"
Weight 195 lb
Hair: brown
Eyes Brown
Classification: Enhanced reflexes; mild pyrokinesis

His superiors would object to having his ID out in the open like that but no one ever came here. Having washed up, he grabbed his clothes and the ID. From his pocket, he fingered a bottle cap and a coin in his pocket.

It had been a long time but the memory was still fresh in his mind. He remembered the drinking and the withdrawal. He still wasn't sure how much of it was hallucinations but he still remembered feeling like he was floating above his own death on that bed.  The water shook him like an earthquake. A whirlpool that threatened to pull him into it. He fought and fought but only sunk deeper. Until she reached out her hand.

He needed to go to work.  Work kept him active. Kept him clean. In some ways, he had traded one addiction for another.  Still a workaholic didn't seem nearly as bad as the alternative and at least there he could do some good.

He flipped the paper open to the "Super" pages as they were some times called. The ones dealing with the regs and Unregs.  On the title page, a local writer apparently had interviewed "Arcus" as the newest Unreg in town.  He read the article, confirming what he already knew.  The new unreg had a softer view of women than most did in this town.  A part of him hoped that this new hero would have his voice heard. Another knew how dangerous that could be.  It wouldn't be hard to discredit him. It wouldn't be the first time that the government had.

The article continued onto page 7 but he stopped reading as another article caught his attention. A rooftop brawl. Usually a story like this would have been on the headline of the paper but it had gotten buried.  He read the article but the information was vague.  The department had obviously gotten to the paper and since they couldn't cover it completely tried to bury it.

He hesitated towards the remote.  The news would be similarly vague but any images might clue him in. Still he turned away.  Any answers he needed could be found at work.

***

Disguised. She hated it.  She never liked to hide. She wanted to be recognized as the criminal who had caused the government so much damage but necessity often called for tact.  Still to show everyone who she was right now and how she had escaped the government offered a sweet temptation to her.

She distracted herself with the television.  The news reported on the rooftop scuffle but mentioned no names.  Not surprisingly the government was trying to keep her presence under wraps in the area but the other hero had been hit or miss. She didn't want her friend exposed yet so she had...complicated the scene.  Still they might have found something.  She didn't deserve to go to one of those places and Archangel needed to talk to her about their future.

She left the place before her coffee came, stopping to avoid bumping into the man as he walked in.

The man looked around the bar. His beard freshly shaven. Being in public like this. Even though they couldn't see what he had on under his coat gave him a small thrill and at the moment he would take any small thrill he could get in this oppressive climate.

He took a brief look at the others in the bar. He wondered who else here might be hiding. For some of them what they might be hiding. The thought making him feel a little less lonely.

His eyes caught on the green dress of a woman on a magazine. Long and smooth material reaching to her calves.  She held a vacuum in her hand and a word bubble was written by her mouth.

"When my husband is out, I like to use Tyson's Dry vac to get out even the toughest dirt from my carpet so that when he gets home, he can see just what a good wife I have been..

He stared at the woman's image. Hesitating over the shoulders, wrist and neck.  Taking a long look at the flowing wavy hair on her hed. An exaggerated red look to match her bright red lipstick.  The chest of the dress was slightly ruffled, giving the look texture and a thin belt divided the top from the skirt portion.

He turned away, suddenly thinking he was staring to long but knowing that anyone was really paying him any mind and sat down at the table to order food.