wind blew across his face, the coolness of which contrasted sharply with the hot, moist workshops he left behind.
As he entered the open space, he had a feeling akin to walking from the vomitory to the seating sections of a sports arena. Not just any arena, one of the super-sized fields like 'The Big House' of Michigan football or Camp Nou in Barcelona, except with a vaulted ceiling overhead.
Tiered rings circled the area, tasked with some arcane industrial purpose. They resembled bleachers lined with valves and vents flapping open and shut releasing steam and vapors. More walkways as well as safety railings lined the complex between those tiers
Johnny moved out from the ramp and across the concrete terrace. The valves and steam vents whistled and clanked open and shut behind and above.
In front of Johnny stood a short railing overlooking the heart of the building; the heart of Thebes. He walked to that railing in measured steps, fearful of the sight Ashley warned of; fearful of what it meant about these people, about the Trevor of this world.
He reached the railing and took hold with both hands, staring out at the immense area in front and below him.
His eyes adjusted, taking the sight below and breaking it into digestible pieces but even so, the consequences of this truth threatened to overwhelm his sense. His hands clenched the rail with great force, his eyes widened, and a sharp cold sweat broke out across his body. Try as he might, Reverend Johnny could not even muster an Old Testament passage to capture the moment.
The truth about the legacy of our Trevor Stone.
Johnny tore himself away from the sight only by forcing his mind to action; the action of finding Trevor. The action of taking him away from this cursed place.
He turned to hurry away, to escape, but stopped as Director Snowe and two soldiers blocked his path.
Snowe's stoic expression did not change. The man did not flinch — not even a little- as he drove a blade into the Reverend’s gut.
The victim offered a weak gasp unfitting for a man so big and strong. Reverend Johnny’s voice and vengeance once sent the minions of Voggoth running in fear, his machine gun had cut down demonic Wraiths at the polar ice cap and his hands had smashed Viking skulls at Five Armies. He had dispatched dozens-hundreds-of humanity's enemies with energy, confidence, and zeal. Yet he died with barely a sigh, hardly more than a whimper, all with stunned shock carved on his face as if he gazed upon Medusa.
He collapsed to the ground not from the jaws of a monster or the guns of an alien army, but at the hands of a man.
Reverend Johnny’s eyes saw no more.
21. Hostile Takeover
'Now looky here. You making yourself at home and whatnot there, Trevvy?'
I am dreaming.
'Of course you dreamin'. Whatchya thinkin'? You don’t belong over there. So I’m sendin' this here special de- liver-ee straight from me to you. Can you hear me now? Hehe.'
Fuck off.
'Ah, now, see, that just ain’t very nice of you considerin' how I’m tryin' to be all easy an shit. I could be bendin' your ear telling you how you gone off the reservation, but I’m figurin' you know that. So the question is, Trevor, have you had enough ass yet? You work off that big piece of pissed-off you’ve been carryin' ‘round? You ready to hop the A-train for home?'
They need me here.
'Need you? Wake up ya’ moron! That ain’t your place to be. I told you ‘bout them rules.'
I have power here. I can make a difference. The others can get along without me.
'Ahhh, poor Trevvy been feelin' not wanted and all. Boohoo. But let me tell you somethin'; your pals back home are havin' a rough time, things startin' to go squirrelly.'
I don’t want to hear from you any more.
'That won’t do Trev. You ain’t supposed to be there.'
I’m stuck here.
'We both know that’s bull poop. Maybe you’re just tryin' to fool yourself. Foolin' yourself into thinking you should help these folks. Foolin' yourself into thinking that lil’ blondie is your lost love. Looks like the same model, don’t she? Tell me Trev, is the ride the same?'
Shut up.
'Now I went to a lot of trouble to show you the way home. But you got to do the work, Trev. You know what to do.'
Shut up!
Trevor’s eyes opened to an explosion of brilliant light.
'Hey, what’s wrong? What’s wrong?' Came Nina's voice.
As his eyes adjusted to the morning sun blazing in through one of the few windows, so did his mind. He was in the penthouse- his penthouse-at the top of the skyscraper. He had moved up in the world, in more ways than one.
Jolene Crawford strolled into the bedroom from the adjoining bath with damp hair but otherwise dressed for the day while Nina sat at the end of the bed in a white robe.
It came back to him.
Everything.
'Is he okay?'
Nina answered for Trevor. She did so with a sly smile on her lips. 'Yeah, sure. I mean, he’s just got to work on his stamina a bit more.'
Jolene pondered, 'Hmmm…I don't know. He seemed pretty-'
'Don’t you have somewhere to go?'
Trevor’s harsh tone stopped her mid-sentence. Jolene hovered for a moment then slipped her jacket on.
'Yeah. Sure. I got duty in an hour.'
I’m done with you. Leave.
'I guess I’ll see you guys around. It was fun.'
Crawford left the bedroom for the front door.
Nina, unfazed by his grumpy manner, asked, 'You might want to hit the shower first, the hot water runs out pretty fast around here.'
He replied with a wave of his hand that sent her heading for the shower while he stood at the end of the bed and slipped on a pair of slacks. His mind buzzed in circles trying to remember what he had been dreaming about. It felt important.
Trevor took a deep breath and tried to clear his mind. It surprised him to realize that despite the long night only his mind seemed groggy. His body felt strong and tense, as if looking for a reason to expend energy. Perhaps he would go to the training facility to work out. Or maybe join Nina in the shower.
'Holy shit!'
The voice came from the main room, accompanied by a series of gasps trying to form a scream.
Trevor scrambled along the short hall and into the living room. Jolene Crawford stood at the open front door staring at something in the hallway. Nina, struggling back into her robe, hurried behind.
He pushed Jolene aside and saw Reverend Johnny's body outside the door slumped against the hallway wall, his gut and upper legs soaked in blood, eyes frozen open.
It took his mind a long second to digest the sight as if the idea of 'dead' and 'Reverend Johnny' were diametrical opposed concepts. When reality finally hit, he turned to Jolene and shouted, 'Did you see anyone? Was there anyone here? ANSWER ME!'
She stumbled for words longer than he liked so he shook her shoulders.
