My head is spinning. I can barely process anything, even with all my supposed multitasking skills—everything is just avalanche after avalanche crashing down on me. Suddenly, Coil just hands control of his empire to me. "You're the boss now, girl. Run it however you see fit." And he... what about him? He's acting like he's ready to retire now that he's so unwelcome, and he gives Tattletale this nasty look.
Tattletale almost chokes. "See?" she says, "he's already manipulating you. You should just kill him and be done with it. Why the hell would we need him anymore? He's nothing but trouble, can't you see it? He did all this deliberately so you'd feel bad about killing him, like you owe him something. But he's just a bastard, and he deserves a special place in hell—probably there's a frying pan with his name on it that says, 'Thomas Calvert, Bastard.' And how can you work with him? Ugh. Fine. Let him hand things over and slither off to Bali, or the Riviera, or wherever he wants—as long as he gets far away from us."
Coil, by the way, doesn't look even remotely bothered. "Of course," he says. "If that's Miss Hebert's will, I'll fly off to Bali. I'll pass everything off and be gone. Honestly, I'm sick of all this. Keeping an eye on the city, maintaining this delicate balance. The ABB without Lung and Bakuda are just scraps of a gang. Oni Lee's totally lost it—he's just gone on a killing spree, you heard? The Empire is expanding into ABB's old territory—there have already been casualties. The Merchants have crawled out of the gutter too, trying to get their share. On my turf, things are quiet, but that's just for now. Empire's the strongest group in the city now, and Kaiser won't let this chance slip by to seize power. He used to be wary of Lung, but that's not a factor anymore. He took his time, gathered info, was wary of Poison Ivy, then the Butcher, but now he's ready. According to Intel, the attack on ABB's former territory is happening tonight. That's why I wanted to hand over command quickly. By Friday, you'll have my enforcers—cape teams included, all under contract—and I'll be gone to Bali, if that's the order. Laying in the sun and sipping cocktails. Won't be easy for me, but orders are orders, and to hell with the rest."
By the way, Brockton Bay's economy is in the toilet. He commissioned Accord to develop a plan to restore the Bay and turn the city into a major transport hub. There are legal issues and stupid municipal decisions, direct government bans, but, whatever, Miss Wilbourn will figure it out—she's so smart, isn't she?
Tattletale practically chokes for a second time. "Taylor—don't let him do this. He's dumping everything on us! He's got mercenaries who need paying, three cape teams under contract—now we're on the hook for all their terms, and I don't know any of the details! He's got god-knows-what locked behind armored doors at the main base, and he's just—off to Bali?"
"What a slippery bastard Coil is!" she yells, her voice muffled over the helicopter's noise dampened by our headsets. We're flying above the Bay while Coil's pointing out all the things that need to be done to clear it up for shipping and trade.
"I can hear you, Miss Wilbourn," comes Coil's dry voice in our headsets. "Miss Taylor, look left. That's the hull of the 'EverPeace' supertanker—currently the biggest obstacle for ocean traffic here. Unfortunately, it can't be removed—neither technically, nor legally. The shipping company is in bankruptcy proceedings. The new owners will have to deal with piles of environmental fines and penalties for blocking the Bay. If you try to move it without permission, you're just throwing away money—and it counts as theft. But if you're a villain, people will just add it to your list of sins."
"I want you to hear me!" Lisa yells. "You think I don't know what you're doing?!"
"I'm not hiding my intentions," Coil replies, just as dry. "Miss Hebert, look right. See there—two more ships: the 'Maria Skoczilski', a tug, and the 'Chihaya-maru', a freighter. Those are easier. Over there—see it? You could lay new rail lines there instead of restoring the old ones through the depot. The depot now belongs to a cape called Metallist, controls steel and iron—his power's a lot like Welder's. If we clear the Bay and get the port running as a transfer hub, we could pull the city out of stagnation in half a year."
"How is that possible? I thought Leviathan made shipping impossible," I shout above the rotors.
"Difficult, not impossible," Coil says. "If international trade had stopped entirely, the world would've collapsed five years ago. Leviathan just drove up shipping insurance premiums, and companies switched to 'coastal traffic'—hugging the shoreline. It's costlier and riskier—more chance of hitting the rocks, but it makes quick-stop ports like Brockton Bay essential. We're perfectly positioned for Atlantic traffic… so long as we clear the Bay and fix the access and port infrastructure. Your father is head of the dockworkers' union, isn't he? He'll have a lot of work coming his way. Still, I'd advise keeping him safe."
"No!" I snap. "No bunkers! I'm not locking my dad up in your base with bodyguards!"
"Your call, Miss Hebert," Coil says, adjusting his glasses. "You should know my people already stopped an abduction attempt on him today."
"What?! How? Who?"
"Abduction attempt. Black van, no plates, four people in dark clothes. With them—an Empire cape, a telekinetic. Rune. They would have shot him in the knees and dragged him into the van—very sloppy job. Unprofessional."
"My dad's hurt!? Why are we flying around? Turn us around NOW!" I grab his shoulder. He winces and struggles to pull away, but can't. If I squeeze harder, his bones will snap.
"M-Miss Hebert, please," he chokes out, barely audible over the thumping rotors. "Do you honestly think I'd let that happen?"
"The kidnapping happened in another reality. Another probability line," Tattletale cuts in. "He just redirected his people and they intercepted the Empire van. Danny wasn't even there."
"Oh. I see." I relax my grip. "Sorry."
"Don't," Tattletale says. "What you shouldn't do is apologize to him. He's a bastard. He'll stop at nothing."
"I'm just glad this is all your problem now," Coil says, rubbing his shoulder and nodding at Lisa.
"If we're going to work together—and that's still an if—you two have to learn how to work without biting each other's heads off. For now, I want to know: what the hell's going on, and why was my father targeted for kidnapping?"
"I know as much as you, Miss Hebert. Maybe Miss Wilbourn knows more?"
"The Empire has had people in the PRT for ages. Some are bribed, some threatened. Kaiser's known who you are since the PRT figured out your civilian identity."
"So he wants to go toe to toe with me? Shoots my dad's knees out and thinks he'll get away with it?!" I yell, my hands shaking, vision tinting red.
"Now you get it!" Lisa yells back. "That happened in a different probability line, Taylor! Your dad's fine, his knees are fine, but in another line, they shot him and tossed him in a van like garbage. And Coil? Tortured me! I'm fine, not hurt, but he still did it! The sicko zapped me—shoved electrodes into my skull, drilled holes! Freaking sadist! I can't sit next to him, he remembers everything!"
"Miss Wilbourn," Coil says, turning to her, "you're being too emotional. You know what you did to me in several probability lines, right? I'm not complaining, but you made my deaths excruciating. If my actions were pragmatic, driven by your constant plans of betrayal, your motives were purely emotional. You just wanted to hurt me."
"What's he talking about, Lisa?" I ask. Lisa looks away.
"Uh… in one probability line, you killed him with your bugs. Slowly. Skrr-skrr-skrr…" She makes a noise and Coil flinches. He composes himself, closes his eyes, exhales, and wipes his brow.
"You only mention that incident, Miss Wilbourn. What about the burning building? The acid bath?"
"Oh, so it worked that time?" Lisa mutters, almost lost in the engine's roar.
"In one timeline, yes. Dissolved in acid in a burning basement. You didn't even know I'd tortured you back then. You were just lashing out. So, let's forget, for now, who tortured whom. We have shared problems to deal with. And I plan to be off to... where did you say? Bali?"
"No one's going anywhere, and no one's dying—at least not until I've sorted out this mess," I say. "I've seen enough. Head back."
"As you wish, Miss Hebert." Coil signals the pilot and the helicopter banks sharply. I grab the door so I don't fall out of my seat.
"The Empire's crossed the line," I say aloud. "Lisa, what do you know about them? They've rubbed me the wrong way since day one—and now it's personal."
"I doubt Kaiser ordered your dad's abduction. More likely, that was someone taking initiative. Rune is young, hasn't earned much clout, probably wanted to prove herself. The PRT files say the Butcher is still sane, but why they'd risk this, I don't know. Maybe she's just that dumb—or, wait. I get it." She turns to me. "It's a setup. The people grabbing Danny were going to hurt him and dump him nearby, and pretend to be the Merchants. That way, our clever Rune would have you wipe out the Merchants for Kaiser, clearing the field for the Empire. It's actually a pretty calculated plan."
"How the fuck is that calculated? I'd have killed them all!"
"Yeah, I know. But then what? What would you do after, if you blamed the Merchants? Kill them all—and then what, if you're the Butcher? If you kept control, you'd lay low, try to heal Danny, maybe leave the city. If you lost control and went on a rampage, Eidolon would show up. He'd have a power to counter the Butcher. Either you'd be contained, or you'd be driven out of the city. Given what Rune knows, it's actually not a bad plan. She just doesn't realize you have the Butcher under control, or about my powers, or Coil's..."
"I hear you again, Miss Wilbourn," Coil interjects.
"I want you to hear me!"
"Lisa, stop acting like a child!" I snap. "Enough. When we get back to the base, you can interrogate him. Take it easy."
"For the record—if Miss Wilbourn wants to use the interrogation room, it's the third door to the right on the lower level," Coil says with dry sarcasm. "And please clean up after yourself. Do you really think you can scare me, Miss Wilbourn? I've died horrible deaths so many times you can't imagine. You can't invent a torture that can surprise me. Honestly, you're just a child, Miss Wilbourn. A wounded child."
"Skrr-skrr-skrr…" Lisa narrows her eyes. Coil flinches, going pale again and pulling out his white handkerchief.
"Mmm… You know, ladies, a long time ago I had a dream," he says, wiping sweat from his brow and pocketing the cloth. "A world without Endbringers. Without people dying from parahuman threats. Gray Boy, for example—have you seen his victims, trapped in a time loop, suffering for years? Ash Beast, the Slaughterhouse Nine, Heartbreaker—there are so many. It's a stupid dream, I know. But anyone with a dream needs to ask themselves the simplest question: 'How far will you go for your dream?' There's only one right answer."
"A dream? I always thought your dream was to tie up helpless girls on your torture table, Coil, but you're a humanist now, huh? Pave the road to hell with good intentions, that's you!" Tattletale yells right in his face. I raise my hand to calm her.
"The Slaughterhouse Nine," Coil says, "Did you know that ever since Miss Hebert dealt with Lung, she attracted their attention? Jack Slash changed his route. Odds are they're coming here, hoping to recruit Miss Hebert. Should I remind you how they recruit new members? Their methods? No matter what I do, I can't top Bonesaw, Siberian, Mannequin, or Crawler… or Jack himself. We're in a full-on crisis, ladies. The city is falling apart and sinking into chaos—the Empire is grabbing territory, the Merchants are on the rise, Oni Lee's gone off the deep end and is killing girls on the streets—four dead already, all tall, thin, long black-haired girls. And I've got enough proof that the Slaughterhouse Nine will pay Brockton Bay a visit, sooner or later. But you know what? None of this is my problem anymore. It's all Miss Hebert's problem—and her new partner, Miss Wilbourn's."
"God, I hate you…" Lisa says. "I really hate you."
"I don't share those feelings, Miss Wilbourn, so I couldn't return them even if I wanted to," Coil replies. "Now, we have a tour of my headquarters left, and then I'll hand over all the keys and codes, and book my ticket out of here. I hear Bali is beautiful this time of year."
"Thomas," I say, and he turns his head toward me. "That question you mentioned—the one with only one correct answer. How far would you go?"
"The correct answer, Miss Hebert," he says quietly, "is all the way. I'm ready to do anything. Are you?"