“He’ll be up for reelection soon. Being able to say he caught Fireball was a feather in his cap. Now he’s just got a bunch of fucking mud on his face.” Chief Vance shrugged. “I don’t really give a fuck about politics, but eventually that pressure will be coming back our way.”
“If it doesn’t come back our way in a few hours, then there won’t be any pressure to worry about.” I slammed my hand on my desk. “Fuck, I just want to arrest every one of the guys on the list I’m making—if they’re all locked up, then there’s a chance we’ll avoid this shit storm entirely.”
“The justice system doesn’t work that way.” Chief Vance leaned over to look at my screen. “Damn, that’s a lot of suspects.”
“I’ve already vetted a few of them, but there are some that are promising. I wish I would have had this database six months ago when we would have had plenty of time to investigate these guys.” I leaned back in my chair and sighed.
I felt like everything was hopeless. The hours ticked by. There was no way that I was going to be able to do anything. Detective Lewis called a few times and I could tell by his tone that he was feeling as helpless as I was. I sent him my list of suspects and he had officers check on a few of them without approaching the suspects. That eliminated a few people when we found them hard at work and living normal lives, but it took time. Time was too precious for us to do that with everyone on my list, and Detective Lewis had suspects of his own. The problem was that none of them were a perfect fit. They might have been screwed over by someone else’s greed or fired from a top investment firm, but that wasn’t enough proof to get them in a set of handcuffs, much less prove they were Fireball.
“What the hell is going on? The emergency signal is jammed.” I heard Charles, one of our dispatchers, from across the station.
“What do you mean it’s jammed?” I stood up and noticed some of the other firefighters gathering around a television screen. “What the fuck is going on.”
“It has to be Fireball!” Charles looked at me with panic in his eyes. “The emergency signals are down and all of the television stations in New York just went off air.”
“What the fuck!?” I ran to the television screen, which was showing static, but then a garbled voice came through the speakers.
Hello New York.
Donovan
My father’s surgery was a success, but he was going to be in ICU for a couple of days just for observation. They wanted him close to medical personnel in case something went wrong. It was minimally invasive, but due to the nature of the procedure, he would still need four to eight weeks of recovery before he would be able to do much more than rest in his recliner. Abby and I weren’t able to go back and see him, but the doctor said he would try to get us back there the following day because it was getting late. I called Marissa to let her know since she had called me on her lunch break and gave Kincaid an update as well. I was upset to learn that the Fireball case was still as cold as it was when I talked to him that morning. I could hear the frustration in his voice and I wished I could be there for him.
“Something is going on with the television.” Abby pointed at the screen, and a second later, I heard a voice that sounded like it was being masked by some sort of device.
Hello New York
“Holy shit.” I walked close to the screen, which had captured the attention of everyone in the waiting room. “That’s—that’s gotta be Fireball.”
“I guess we’re about to see his face…” Abby looked at me with concern on her face.
“Yeah.” I nodded quickly.
The static on the screen began to fade. I saw a
room that had several shelves stacked with kerosene, gas, fertilizer, and a lot of other items that could have been used to start a fire or make a bomb. The static still jumped across the screen several times, but the picture was mostly clear. I wasn’t sure if we were seeing some sort of place that Fireball intended to burn down, or if we were going to see the man himself. I got the answer to my question a few seconds later when a figure walked in front of the camera. They were wearing a thick padded red jacket, loose fitting brown pants, and gloves. The camera only went as high as their neck, so I couldn’t see anything else except for enough skin to tell that Fireball was Caucasian. The camera moved, and I saw the figure sinking down. It was really going to happen. We were going to see the face of the man who had caused all the carnage.
Are you ready to see my face?
“Yes asshole, we are.” I grunted under my breath and continued to watch.
The camera shifted up and instead of a face, I saw a mask. It looked like the kind of mask that a professional wrestler would wear with padding around the circumference of the face. It was mostly red with hints of orange, and flames twisting up past the top of the mask. The eyes were covered in a layer of green that had money signs where the eyeballs would have been. Fireball really did think he was some sort of comic book villain. His mask looked like something someone would have designed for a television show. I heard a low, garbled chuckle and then he started to shift the camera until it was directly pointed at his face. My jaw tightened with anger. He was still playing his fucking game. He wasn’t going to reveal his face or disappear. He just wanted to make a fool out of everyone who arrested Johnny West.
This is the best you’re going to get. Why? Because my mission isn’t done yet. I haven’t even begun to revel in the despair of those who satisfy their greed at the expense of others. They know who they are. They tremble in their ivory towers when they should be running—because those ivory towers are coming down. One by one they will fall. The greed will become ash. The monuments themselves will remain, but how will they survive when I cauterize their hearts? Tonight, you get to witness it live. A sacrifice in the form of an effigy. I bet she’ll look good dancing in the flames.
“Oh fuck.” I watched as the camera shifted and turned in a circle to reveal a woman tied to a chair.
“He’s going to kill someone on live television?” Abby looked at me and grabbed my arm. “I can’t watch this.”
“Nobody should have to watch this—oh my god. That’s Veronica Stone!” I stared in disbelief as the light was adjusted in the room to reveal the face of Marissa’s boss.
“You know her?” Abby tugged on my arm. “Who is she?”
“She’s the CEO of Livingston Capital…” My words trailed off as the horrifying realization set in—Fireball was going to burn her alive for the entire world to see.
Veronica Stone. Do you know her face? If you don’t, then count yourself lucky. She’s the epitome of evil and greed. She destroys lives and leaves ruination behind. She pillages the souls of the unfortunate few who are forced to surrender to her wrath. Tonight, she will be cleansed of her sins. She will taste the fire of purity while feeling the same pain she inflicts on others. Are you ready to watch the sacrifice? This is what you’ve been waiting for. This is her moment to—shine.
The camera spun around again, and we were staring at Fireballs masked face, but something caught my eye. An outline of something on the shelf behind Fireball that was only visible for an instant when the camera was being turned. It was buried in my memories, but it didn’t immediately come to the surface. Then it hit me. It was a purse—a tattered green purse. The exact same purse I saw my sister holding when she was freaking out the last time I saw her. It couldn’t be—it had to be a coincidence. My heart sank into my stomach and I pulled away from Abby. I didn’t have time to tell her why—I had to make a phone call. I rushed out of the emergency room and dialed Kincaid’s number. I paced as I listened to the phone ring and was shaking so bad when he finally picked up that I struggled to speak.