Chapter
3 – A Firm but Loving Punishment
It seems to be another day working
at the hospital with Darcy until her water breaks. My third child is about to
arrive, and Darcy is quickly taken to a room where she is cared for. Just like
the other times, I stay by Darcy’s side as she gives birth and to greet our
newest child, a baby boy, whom we name Lucien. We get our friends from the
hospital to bring over our other children so that the oldest can meet and greet
the youngest. Time flies by until it’s sundown, when I remember that my plan is
about to spring into action. Thinking that Darcy is asleep, I leave our
children under the care of our friends and am about to leave the room until I
hear Darcy say my name.
“Timeo,” she says. “Go make a
brighter future for everyone, not only our children.”
“I will,” I say before kissing her
and our children, and leaving the room.
I don’t get very far until someone
puts a gun to my back as I take the elevator down.
Since I don’t care for stalling, I
say, “I figured there’d be a traitor in our midst.”
“Everyone in Meridian has a price,
Mr. Severe. Mine is the continued happiness of myself and family,” a man
dressed in a suit behind me says.
He has sleek black hair like mine
and bright blue eyes.
“What is it that you want?”
“Let’s go to your office. I want to
talk in private.”
Pressing the elevator button to go
back up, the man and I go to my office, where he closes and locks the door
behind him.
He says, “I don’t care if you’re
actually L’Obscurité or not. Honestly, it doesn’t matter either way. All I want
you to do is wait here for the night until my friends in the criminal
underworld pack their bags and leave the city.”
“That’s it?” I say with a laugh.
“That’s it. It’s what we both want
after all, so there’s no reason to laugh or doubt me. With my criminal friends
out of the city, they’ll leave you alone to continue their operations somewhere
else. It’s a win-win for both of us.”
I continue laughing, much to the
displeasure of the clueless man in front of me.
“What’s so funny?” he asks. “You
and your superhero friends can punish the other criminals that you want, and go
about your plan tonight like you want. All I want is for you to leave my family
and friends alone.”
“What about the family and friends
of those inside and outside the city? Those people don’t really matter to scum
like you.”
Drawing his pistol, the man points
it at me while hiding himself in front of my door, away from the windows, and
says, “If I really dig deep, I guess I could say you’re right, but I don’t care
to do any soul searching right now. Don’t you want criminals out of the city?
I’ll give you some insider intel and let you know that most sane criminals are
leaving the city because of your friends and you. The rest are either insane or
too in over their heads to continue their operations.”
I try to contain my laughter as I
say, “Don’t get me wrong. I want every single criminal out of the city, but
scaring them out of the city isn’t enough. More will come or rise from within
the city, so I need something more than fear to do that. I need action. I need
the scum of this city either locked up or dead.”
The sounds of explosions and
fighting scare and confuse the man.
“What was that? Did you instruct
your allies to act without you?”
“They don’t need me giving them
orders to make them protect their homes. Come here.”
The man walks over to me to see the
breaking news on my computer. Dozens upon dozens of criminal hideouts are being
raided by my apprentices and allies. Criminals and villains at all levels of
society are either being arrested or killed when they resist. Even those who
have power in government or business are arrested or killed, thanks to the
evidence that Kane, Polina, and Raziel have found. As for those retreating, the
members of the sixth and seventh family hunt them down and kill them before
they leave the borders of both the city and the suburbs.
Visibly shaken and upset, the man
points the gun at me and says, “You bastard!”
Before he can do anything, the cops
come in and arrest him since he was one of the criminals we knew about.
“You always knew, didn’t you?!” the
man says as he resists arrest and the cops struggle to haul him away. “You
knew!”
“I always know,” I admit before I
hysterically laugh.
From my office computer, I continue
watching the night’s events unfold until they finally end after a few hours of
excitement. I then return to Darcy and spend the night in the hospital with her
and our children. Sometime later, Meridian is declared one of the safest, most
protected cities in the world and loses its infamous reputation. To celebrate,
my family, friends, allies, and I dine at a nice restaurant once Darcy is able
to go out. Everyone has a good time, especially the people of the undercity,
who are enjoying their first time being on the surface of the city. My greatest
joy during the event is seeing everyone happy and enjoying themselves.
Darcy leans next to me and asks, “So,
when will we be planning to get our sixth child?”
“You have to wait at least eighteen
months or so,” I say as I rub the temples of my head.
“What if I want one sooner than
that?”
“You want to adopt like how you did
with Kane and Raziel, or perhaps adopt from an orphanage?”
“What if I want it the natural way?”
I rub my head even harder.
“Then may God help me because of
how hard you try to get pregnant that way.
Darcy and I laugh. We then hear one
of our favorite slow songs come on that we dance to with our children in our arms.
After the party is over, we say goodbye to everyone, and leave the restaurant,
and as we do, my attention to drawn to a rich couple with a kid, who are being
not so subtly followed by a couple of shady-looking men.
Knowing what I’m thinking, Darcy says,
“Go get them, my dark hero. I’m sure you’ll be back in a few seconds.”
I nod and head after the family.
The criminals have the family cornered, but just like every sensible resident
of Meridian, they keep their guns on them for self-defense. As the family
argues with the criminals to let them go, I start to laugh to get everyone’s
attention. The criminals look at me standing on top of the building, my shadow
growing and blocking out the sky, and then I descend upon the criminals, who
scream out in terror. With the family safe and the criminals dead from their
fears, I return to my family in my normal form. Darcy smiles at me, knowing
justice was dealt, and as we walk back to our car and head home, I reflect a
bit on what I’ve been through all these years as a hero and the results.
Meridian is called the City of the
Midday Sun because its founders established it at a time when they thought their
best days were behind them and only darkness lay ahead, but after they went
through the darkness, they reached the light and were stronger because of it. I
am the modern form of that darkness, a force of justice, a tool of God that has
made Meridian a better and safer place for everyone after putting it through so
much after so many years, and I’m not done yet. I have my sights set beyond the
city’s borders and am making plans to further ensure its safety by going after
people who seek its downfall from afar, but for now, I’ll enjoy this peace I’ve
helped establish and keep the city in line, a nightmare and seemingly never-ending
night for criminals and villains alike, unless they repent and become better
people.
The End
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