The chill night air did little to dampen his excitement. Though he moved not one tiny muscle, inside he was nearly vibrating with nerves. It was like this nearly every time. The sense of rightness when he put on the costume, the sense of power as he chose those tools necessary for the job—each and every time it was like this. It made him feel alive in a way nothing else had. Not even two hours of virtually motionless, patient waiting could dampen his spirit.

Luke finished breaking down the last box and shoved the flattened cardboard into the pile. He looked around to see if he’d missed anything and gave a satisfied nod.

“Okay, Pops, I’m outta here.” He gave a short wave. “I’ll be back around closing.”

Pops nodded and waved him off without looking up from his dice game. He and Walter were rolling for a round of drinks.

“The kid still doing his thing?” Bill asked after Luke had left.

Pops snorted. “The kid’s always doing his thing.”

“I don’t have a thing to do,” Walter chimed in, shaking the cup and spilling the dice out.

“That’s because your thing hasn’t worked in years,” Ed rejoined.

Valentine’s Day

The Emerald was packed. Luke had had the foresight to make reservations so he and Jen had a small table in the back. Granted, there were a lot of small tables in the back at this point, and he could’ve reached out in either direction and taken a drink off the adjoining tables, but the ambience was unmistakable. On stage the modern rock-jazz sounds of Blended Neon oozed out over the crowd. They were a mix of Steely Dan and Chicago, and both he and Jen had enjoyed the evening’s entertainment thus far. They sat next to each other, crammed between every other couple around them, holding hands, laughing, sipping at their cocktails, and in every way acting like two young people in the early stages of love.

It was cold. That happened in February. Hudson City was a cold place to begin with. Even in his insulated suit Nemesis felt the cold. Part of it, he had to admit, had nothing to do with the weather. He was hunting, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to catch his prey.