The Starling Saviour

Chapter 13

I just gaped at what had just happened. Was this real, or could it just be a dream? Ted? No. I couldn't be.

Yet it was.

'How can... You be the Vigilante?' I asked in shock.

'Am I not what you expected?' Ted chuckled.

'No, I just... Couldn't imagine the Vigilante to be just a... Normal person,' I explained. 'I think the mystery of it all made me detach the Vigilante from being an actual human being.'

'I understand,' Ted nodded in agreement. 'I wouldn't have believed it if our roles were switched.'

'Why are you telling me this?' I asked in confusion. 'Surely you wouldn't want me, or anyone, to know your true identity?'

'I told you before,' Ted started. 'I want you join me. Fight with me. Two is always better than one.'

'I would love to... But, I can't,' I declined his offer. 'I already have a team that depend on me. We may not exactly be fighting crime yet, but, we're getting there.'

'Just, think about it,' Ted told me. 'Four is also better than one.'

---

'What happened here?' Lance asked in utter confusion as some of the SCPD hurried to where the member of the Culebra Gang had shot himself.

'When you called I got into an SCPD car he was driving,' I explained, pointing the the shook-up driver whom had called the team to the scene. 'This man had him hostage though, and then also me. He was telling him to drive somewhere, I don't know where. We got out, but instead of trying to fight us, he looked scared, as though he had failed his gang. And then, he shot himself.'

'Did you get any information out of him?' Lance asked me straightaway.

'Yes,' I replied quickly, thinking back to what the gang member had said. 'The gang he was in was the Culebra Gang, and the boss is a guy called Mr Bellini.'

'That name sounds... familiar,' Lance commented, casting his mind back. 'Well, we can look into that when we get back to the SCPD. Does your driver over there know where he was driving you to?'

'I'll go and talk to him,' I said. 'But I don't know, he seems pretty shook up.'

As I walked up to the officer, I tried to think of what to say. He knew the Vigilante had been there; he was bound to tell them all sooner or later. So did I ask him what he saw? Or did I tell him not to tell anyone anything about my affiliation with the Vigilante?

'Hi, Trevor,' I smiled, looking at his ID. 'Are you alright?'

'Yeah,' he said quietly.

It was weird how he seemed so scared, so on edge. He was an officer; things like this happened to people in the SCPD. Part of me just wanted to tell him to get over it.

'Do you remember anything he told you?' I asked Trevor, referring to the gang member. 'Or even why he was making you drive us to-'

I was interrupted by Trevor coughing rather loudly. Grabbing the bottle of water stood on the floor right next to him, I gave it to him.

'This should help,' I smiled as he took a sip.

'Thanks,' he said, but started spluttering even more, in turn drinking more to ease his throat.

'So, about where you were driving to, do you know where it was?' I asked again, needing answers.

'Yeah,' he said hoarsely, trying to stop coughing. 'It was-'

Suddenly, Trevor fell to the floor, his muscles giving up and body shutting down. I felt for his pulse, but his wrist was too hot to touch.

'We need an ambulance now!' I shouted at everyone, who immediately followed my instructions.