she went out with Tag. “Do you really think this is a good idea?”
“Yes sir, I do,” Danielle said. “The interrogations at school turned up nothing. We know that our Superman has to be a student. So either we did not interrogate Superman, or he was able to manipulate the truth field. Before you removed all of the security personnel from the school, didn’t you interrogate every student above the age of twelve?”
“Yes we did. Leave no rock unturned, I say. And you’re right, we came up with nothing. Do you really think that the person we’re looking for could lie in a truth field and not be caught?”
“Logic screams that that’s the only answer. If our Superman has the ability to see cameras’ views, then he must be able to detect different kinds of electronic fields. Is it a huge jump to consider that if he can detect them he might be able to manipulate them?”
“We started measuring for psychic ability after we left, but I don’t know if that’s going to work,” Inspector Connor said. “Do you still think that he’s our best suspect to be Superman?”
“I’m not sure. I was there when he was interrogated and he was very relaxed and at ease. Even the innocent would be worried if they were going to be questioned. There was something else that bothered me.”
“What was that?”
“One of his friends was being interrogated while we were sitting outside, and one of the questions he answered showed he was being dishonest when he was asked how old he was. He had answered correctly.”
“Was that the only issue you saw?”
“No sir. The student questioned after his friend had the interrogator stop the session and call for a technician to repair the truth field because it was not working properly. I noticed that after that Tag seem to be more at ease. I asked the technician later what caused the truth field failure. He said that when he checked it there was nothing wrong. He thought it might be a temporary electrical surge or something else that would throw it off.”
“What do you think, Miss Ash?”
“I don’t want to sound crazy, but I think Tag was practicing on the students before he went in to see if he could manipulate the field.”
“You keep adding to our Superman’s powers.”
“Sir, please tell me if you think I’m wrong. A lot of these conclusions that I come up with seem to come out of nowhere, but they feel right. I can’t tell you half the time how I arrive at them, and I’m not always certain they are correct. If you think I am wrong or headed the wrong way please stop me. I know you have a lot more experience than I do,” Danielle said.
“That’s just it, Miss Ash. There’s no other explanation than what you have deduced. I don’t want to believe that this person is capable of all the things we ascribe to him, but we’re left with no other alternative. What concerns me right now is that if you’re right, you’re about to place yourself in the hands of a very dangerous individual.”
“If Tag is Superman, I won’t be in danger,” she said.
“You can’t be certain of that.”
“I can be as certain of that as I am about any conclusion I’ve made.”
“How?”
“Unfortunately, Inspector Connor, this particular conclusion was not done completely logically. It’s something that I sense about him. He won’t hurt me.”
“Even so, I want you to go armed.”
“Inspector Connor, if Tag is our Superman, he was able to disarm and kill four skilled criminals in six seconds. What chance do you think I would have to use any kind of weapon? And if I go armed and he sees the weapon, he’ll know I’m with security because we’re the only ones allowed to legally carry them. It would blow my cover. Besides, I haven’t even begun my weapons training.”
“Okay, you shouldn’t go armed, but I insist that you have a way to call for help. Go to your mail slot and remove a package you’ll find there.”
Danielle did as he said and then opened the package. She pulled out a new com that looked exactly like the one she normally used. Inspector Connor said, “This is your new com. This one is programmed with all the same numbers you currently have, except that if you press your thumb on the crystal display and rotate it clockwise, it will immediately activate a locator beacon for us to find you. Touching it with your thumb won’t make it work; it has to be pressed down. It will also let us know that you’re in trouble and need help. If you’re out with him I am going to have floaters stationed around the city that can get to any place in less than sixty seconds. That’s how long you’ll have to delay for help to arrive.”
She took the new com and put it on her wrist. “Thank you, sir. I do appreciate your interest in my safety. I might be wrong about Tag, but he seems to have so many things that point towards him that I feel like I need to eliminate him as a suspect before I can move forward.”
“Then by all means, do what you need to do,” Inspector Connor said, “but don’t forget we’re right there if you need us.”
Danielle and Tag were walking through the entertainment section of Central City that evening. The bright lights and crowds out enjoying themselves gave a light and happy atmosphere to the young couple. She had picked him up in her floater even though he had protested. She won the argument when she asked how many floaters his family had. When he told her they only had one, she said, “It’s unfair to your parents to have to stay home when you go out. My family has two so I’ll drive.”
“Boy, she’s hard to argue with,” Tag thought. They had had several discussions during the evening, and though he thought he was pretty smart, he was no match for her skill at putting things together. He was amazed at her insights. But there was still a part of him that wondered why she had wanted to go out with him. Every boy in the school had asked her out or wanted to ask her, and she had politely declined them all. Then she asked him out. “What’s wrong with this picture?” he wondered. He knew he was not the best looking. Shoot, even Eric was better looking. He could still hear Eric on the com before he left home: “All right, Tag. Make sure you take a shower, wash under your arms, and shave that peach fuzz you call a beard. Then go out and buy a mask because none of that will help.” Then Eric laughed out loud and suggested that the mask should be a copy of his face. He finally told Tag to have a good time and that he was lucky to be going out with such a special girl.
“And she is special,” Tag thought. “She knows she’s beautiful but she doesn’t wear it like a crown. She has a ready smile, a quick wit, and seems to enjoy other people.” He normally could not relax around females, but she had him laughing and feeling quite comfortable within fifteen minutes of leaving his house. But that still didn’t answer why she chose him.
“What’s that look on your face about?” Danielle asked. They were walking out of Checkmate Cinema where they had seen an action movie that really wasn’t very good, but the popcorn was.
“I was wondering why you chose me to go out with. You know as well as I that you’ve been asked by a lot of others. You don’t have to ask to be taken out. I guess I was trying to figure out, why me?”
“You have a pretty low opinion of yourself, don’t you?” she quipped.
He looked her straight in the eye and said, “Danielle, I know that I am average in appearance and I’m okay with that. People like me, but I am not among those that are the most popular. There’s nothing about me that jumps out and screams, ‘Date me because there’s no one better.’ Of course, that’s excluding Eric.”
She laughed out loud and said, “That sounds like Eric.” Then she looked at him still looking into her eyes and said, “You’re serious?”
“Yes, I am. You could have your choice of anyone; why me?”
“Because of me,” she answered.
“Now I’m confused,” Tag said.
“Let me try to help you. When I was in school…” She stopped, paused, and said, “The school I was in before I transferred here, I had a huge crush on a boy named James. It started in my middle levels and quite frankly I felt like he was way out of my league. He looked great, he was one of the most popular, he was athletic, he moved gracefully, and I felt he was the most wonderful thing I had ever seen.”
“What happened?”
“In my middle level, I was not much to look at. I wore glasses and had a very small body. I’ve been described at that age as looking like a twig with a head on it. I really felt like I had no chance with James, so I never told him how I felt.”
“I find that hard to believe, Danielle. You’re beautiful, easy to talk to, nothing like what you’re
