American Devil

Chapter 4 - A Date with a Hostage

Teleporting is like jumping to Kyro. When he first got his powers, way back when, doing it made him feel uneasy. It was that one split second before landing that was the problem. The one second of absolute uncertainty, when his stomach dropped and he was in mid air, nothing under him nor around him. Just him somewhere in between.

Even thinking about not finding solid ground on the other side, wherever the other side was, made him nauseous. He had definitely puked the first couple of times he teleported. Probably more than a couple. But that was way back when. It took a while to get used to but he managed it.

It's like second nature to him now, like a sailor finally gaining his sea legs. Now he knows with absolute certainty that he will land, and in the exact spot he wants to land. The fear that used to plague every jump has been replaced with comfort in his freedom.

Kyro teleports, feeling that familiar tug in his stomach, the brief suspension everywhere and nowhere at the same time, until he is somewhere, exactly where he wanted to be. In the passenger seat of a kidnapper's car.

The moment he feels the world solidify around him, he opens his eyes and time slows down. He is always immensely grateful for that part of his power. He could never explain it, much like he couldn't explain the rest of his power or it's origins. But this part that allows him to survey his surroundings as time slowly ticks away, that gives him a minute to regain his footing before he has to take action, that's the most useful part.

His eyes scan the inside of the car. There are only three people in the vehicle, just like it was reported on the news. He focuses on the two women in the back first. They are both bound and gagged, tears streaming down their faces. The daughter, Marie, is curled into her mother, Charon. Her body is shaking like a leaf and he can hear her sobbing into her mother's shoulder. Charon, however, does not make a sound even as her tears soak into the blindfold. Her body is not shaking, but is, instead, a solid presence, a show of strength and comfort curled around her daughter. Despite being incapacitated, she is actively trying to put herself between her daughter and danger, to protect her with her own body while simultaneously trying to calm her down as a steady presence.

Kyro can practically taste the fear radiating off the two of them and it angers him, burning an old rage that flares up at any instance of injustice. It's that rage that makes him push so hard, chasing down criminals with no desire to stop. The only reason these two have to suffer in such a way is their familial relation to Chuck Meer. They do not deserve it.

Kyro is already done with this situation, anger simmering underneath the surface as he tries to contain it. He turns his glare onto the driver. The kidnapper. A known killer and career criminal. Nathan Johnson,"The Bull", with a pistol in his hand that stares directly at the women. A marker of the failed gun laws that allows criminals like him to easily buy them at gun shows. That terrified look on that piece of human garbage, could almost be compared to fear of his hostages. A part of Kyro, a part he hates to admit enjoys it, seeing him suffer, seeing him afraid. The man should absolutely be scared, but not of the police chasing him, no. There is an even greater danger in a white porcelain mask sitting right in his passenger seat, and he doesn't even know it yet.

In a situation like this, there is no room for foolish mistakes, no time to waste. Kyro has to act quickly. With every second that passes, chances are that the police will finally decide to do something. He can't afford them aggravating the driver even further than he already is. Besides, the man is known to have an itchy trigger finger, and Kyro isn't keen on finding out how good his aim is while driving a getaway vehicle, or even how good his aim is, period.

He is aware that there isn't much you can do in a situation like this. Knocking the man out is an option, sure, but Kyro isn't feeling all that generous. Not towards this man. He recognizes the long list of felonies attached to the man's name, despite his relatively young age. There's a long list of victims attached to it too.