Brass Ring Chapter 10: Bruno Gets Back In The Saddle

Bruno loved the Reubens at the Loaded Swallow, and he savored his sandwich. Well, the one he had to order after my idiot boyfriend was gone. He was also scrolling through the paperwork for the Blue Card Program. He also checked to make sure that Paul was still listed as part of the program; while officially it was set up to make life easier for CAPES members, unofficially it was created to fuel a certain speedster while in the field. It was something he was happy to do; nothing was worse than a hungry speedster in an enclosed space. He had found that out when Paul was trapped by Tintran the Terrible several Christmases ago.

He finished the sandwich about the same time that he finished the paperwork. He switched the mode his phone was in, from view to call. “Hola, Imago. Fine. Yeah, I'm curious about the new team. They haven't? Argh. Can you send me some pictures? Cool. Yeah, debating using the new team as a PR for the mayor's office; she could use the numbers. Alright! Danke. See you later!”

He looked at the pictures and data from Imago. The new team was interesting: a romantic couple, the daughter of a local retail legend, the scion of a rich family, and a nun. This could help a certain mayor with flagging ratings. He made the call. “Hey, Marna! Yeah, just finishing lunch. An interesting PR opportunity just fell on my desk. CAPES has a new team. I was just about to send the Blue Card paperwork your way for a renewal. Yeah, combined the two should help see you through the current crisis. Better than that: If you supported the current team you wouldn't need to start a new team. Exactly. Just renew the program now and we'll have a press conference later. Cool. I'll see what I can do. I'll be there shortly; just finishing lunch now.”

He smiled; this was definitely going to be an expensed lunch, but more importantly, he was doing good for the city. This was why he had retired as Corsair; while it was fun being the weapons master in a group of gods, he just hadn't felt like he was really making a difference. Too many times the group could have done a lot more good if someone had helped out the community more than just saving its citizenry. As Bruno Macchiavelli, Assistant Mayor, he could be the advocate those communities needed.

He felt that he was doing more now than he ever had as Corsair. Not that he wouldn't mind another go as the swashbuckler....

Paul could never be a politician; he barely held his own business together. If not for a pretty good board, Doppler Engines, Paul's pride and joy, would have gone under years ago. Bruno smiled at the thought of him trying to deal with an entire city. And with that, he wiped his mouth, tossed the crumpled napkin on his plate, and settled up his bill. In minutes he was climbing up the stairs back to work, saving the city in his own special way.

* * * * *

As Oliver left the gym, he received a text.

Imago: His number is well-advertised. You should check out his website sometime.

Imago had included a link along with the number. Oliver wasted a few minutes perusing the site; of course, it had full video of some of his missions. His brother seemed to be pretty good at what he did, even if it was illegal in most countries, including his native one.

He paused for a moment, debating if he really wanted to open up the king-sized can of worms he was about to open. He decided it was going to have to happen eventually, so he might as well pull off the bandage now.

He texted the number.

Oliver: So, you're alive. Missed you.

The text was returned almost immediately.

Psyborg: I was curious how much longer I was going to have to wait. Missed you, too!

He debated his response, then:

Oliver: Your new parts working out okay?

Psyborg: Yeah, Better than the originals.

Oliver: It would have been nice to know you were alive. Still not sure about how to tell Mom.

Psyborg: You'll figure it out. Nice to see you finally escaped from that town.

Oliver: Thanks.

Psyborg: And you're right. I just felt like I needed to find my own way. It just became harder to contact you. After a while.....

Oliver: I can sort of understand. Still, you should have tried.

Psyborg: Possibly. So, you're on the hero team..?

Oliver: Yep. And you're a villain.

Psyborg: They pay better.

Oliver: Figures.

Psyborg: [insert picture of a gorgeous steak and potatoes dinner, with a mac and cheese casserole, ears of corn, and a bowl of green beans]

[string of evil smilies]

However, you may want to debate running while you have a chance. The next encounter may not go as easy as this one did.

Oliver: Wish I could. But you're not the only stubborn one.

Psyborg: So be it.

Oliver: Talk to you later.

Psyborg didn't respond, but Oliver knew they would talk again later. Yeah, pulling off the bandage always hurts. Hopefully, my sauna time with Cass would help the healing begin.

* * * * *

The klaxons were in full effect, as well as red flashing lights. Kung was not happy; as he worked furiously to figure out the problem, he also retread the steps he had taken to get here. He slapped his forehead as he figured out the problem: A fuse had popped at precisely the wrong moment. Rather than shutting down the laser like it was supposed to, it had instead acted as an arc between the parts it was supposed to separate. Finding the fuse almost the instant he realized the problem, he was able to pull out the fuse.

“Oh, NOW you shut down.”

He inspected the fuse. He frowned as he looked at it; it was the wrong fuse. No wonder it had malfunctioned. This meant that he now had to tell Don Pelegrine, and he did not seem to be the type who would brook such a minor problem creating such a major issue. Nonetheless, he started the trek to his employer's office.

The trek didn't last long as the employer in question popped into the laboratory, and Kung could almost see the dark clouds around his head; the Don's brow was furrowed and he was frowning. His glare told of the many deaths that someone was about to suffer. Kung flipped a mental coin: He could tell the Don now and accept a swift yet merciful death or wait until he found out through a torture session. The coin came down heads and Kung bowed before the don.

“I have some bad news. A fuse has burnt out.”

Don Pelegrine glared at him. “Can we find it locally?”

“Yes. It's uncommon but should be relatively easy to find.”

“Find the store. You will be going.”

“Understood.” Kung slipped away to start looking for the store that carried his fuse.

The don looked around the lab and found his right-hand man, kidding around with his two favorite minions.

“PSYBORG. Get the Brothers Boom ready to go. When Kung has a destination, you are to escort him there and back.”

Psyborg walked briskly over. “Got it.” He paused for just a moment. “I would like to bring along Valkyr.”

Don Pelegrine thought about it for a moment. “Fine. I'll still have Sentai so it should be fine.”

“Thanks.”

Don Pelegrine took a step to leave. “Someone needs to turn off that hellish noise.” He turned to Psiborg. “If I hear yet another klaxon someone would die. Painfully.” He turned and left.

Psiborg smiled. “Now that's the classic anger I'm used to.” He walked over to Valkyr, sitting as she sharpened something long. “You're coming with us.”

She grunted. “Fine. Where are we going?”

Psyborg scanned the room and found what he was looking for. “Kung? Where are we going?”

Kung held up a finger as something printed. He handed the paper to Psyborg. “Here.”

Psyborg targeted it with a laser and burned it. The ashes disappeared in moments. Kung paled. “For future reference, I'm mostly computer and I always have a connection.” Kung scurried away. “Why are geniuses so frickin' stupid?”

Valkyr smiled as the Brothers Boom came over. “Let's get out of here.” He pointed a finger at Kung and motioned for him to come closer. “Yeah, that includes you, genius.”

Psyborg left the group in tow. He had scanned the paper before destroying it. The group was off to the biggest, best electronics store in Overton: Osa Electronics.

[The last chapter can be found here. The next chapter can be found here.]