Read New Olympus Saga (Book 2): Doomsday Duet for Free Online Page B

nobody’s qualified to deal with them. Which means we’re just as qualified as anyone else.”
    “Point. Not sure if it’s a good point, mind you, but point.”
    “Since nobody’s followed us here, I think we’re still protected from Neo snoops. Christine has some ability that spoofs those powers, or someone would have tracked her down long before now. Cassandra said as much,” I added, wincing inwardly. That had been our last face to face conversation. “Which is one reason she’s not going to use that cube, at least for now; it must have made neutralized that power, and allowed the assholes to track her down.”
    “Makes sense. If the opposition shows up again, we won’t have the Lurker to provide a suicidal rear guard while we run away.”
    “Right now we need more information. You’re the crime-fighting masked detective, bird-head. Where can we get more information?”
    “Well, unless the Lurker killed every Russian mobster in Chicago, there must be somebody left in charge. We could interrogate assorted Mafyia soldiers and move up the ladder until we bump into somebody important. Or,” he added reluctantly, “we could hit the Russians in New York instead. That’s where Christine showed up in the first place. I don’t think she appeared there by accident.”
    “Yeah. New York is where crazy Neo shit happens most often. Why should this be any different?”
    Condor nodded. “I think Christine was able to escape from their base somehow, but she didn’t get very far. I’d expect them to be somewhere in the city or at least near it.”
    “Sounds like a place to start. Tracking down Russian mobsters and beating them to a pulp is right up my alley.”
    “Mine, too,” Condor admitted. “I don’t like the idea of stirring up trouble in my town, but I guess trouble is already there. We might as well try to do something about it. Why don’t you call Lester and see how much he can tell us about the Russians in Chicago? I’ll work on the New York angle and we can line up a list of possible targets. Figure we can stay here for a day or two while we prep for our next move.”
    It felt like old times, getting ready to kick ass and take names. I grabbed my comm and called Lester Harris, one of the Lurker’s sidekicks, who had bailed on us earlier in the night. Smart of him; he was a vanilla human and way in over his head. He probably wouldn’t be happy to hear from me, but he would help out.
    I even managed not to think about Christine and Ultimate for a while.
     

Chapter Three
     
     
    The Freedom Legion
     
    Atlantic Headquarters, March 15, 2013
    Kenneth Slaughter worked on his armor and fought a rising tide of despair.
    The workshop was empty except for him. He always did his best work by himself, unencumbered by the need to interact with people. Relating to the rest of humanity had long felt like a chore. He would much rather be alone with his thoughts, free to let his mind consider possibilities, alternatives, and new developments in a hundred different fields. Having others around all too often led to their looking uncomprehendingly at him, or worse, requesting or even demanding explanations their brains were seldom able to grasp. It annoyed him to have to muster the effort to simplify and translate his ideas so lesser minds could begin to understand them.
    Face it, Doc. You’re a snob. An intellectual elitist who is nowhere near as smart as he thinks.
    It was a fair assessment. Daedalus Smith had flung those words in his face at an informal gathering back in 1941, mere weeks before Pearl Harbor had dragged the Freedom Legion into a war that Kenneth had worked hard – and failed miserably – to prevent. For all his genius, he had accomplished precious little in the things that mattered. Most of his energy had been spent playing policeman or social worker, dealing with emergencies while letting the world’s larger problems fester. He had cured innumerable diseases, helped end world hunger and