The Conductor {Black Lightning}{Wattys2018}

Ch. 3: Following Protocol

Anissa was fuming at their lunch break.

"Dad's mad at me because I didn't call security," she told Eugene, angrily biting into her sandwich. "Security ain't gon' do nothing!"

Anissa was right; Garfield's security was useless. But it was hard to take her seriously when a piece of sandwich came flying out of her mouth and landed on Eugene's arm.

"Uh..." Eugene pulled a face as she brushed it off with a napkin. "Yell with an empty mouth, please."

Anissa swallowed the rest of her food and cringed. "Oh, sorry. That's gross."

"I'm fine."

"What else was I supposed to do?" Anissa continued. "He harassed Jen, he wouldn't listen to me, he wouldn't listen to you, and then he had the nerve to push you."

"Nissa, I can handle myself," said Eugene. "You didn't need to defend me."

"That's not the point!" Anissa said fiercely. "The One Hundred needs to know that they can't just come in Garfield and do whatever the hell they want!"

"That's why you call the security guards."

"You aren't listening! Security guards are useless!"

Eugene ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. Talking about politics and the One Hundred with Anissa was hell, but these days that was all Anissa wanted to talk about. Yes, both of those things were at the core of Eugene's reality, but Eugene hated reality.

"If you don't follow protocol, you could escalate things and get people hurt," she said firmly. "You can't just jump into situations because you're emotional."

"The situation has already escalated! Protocol hasn't done jack!"

***

Eugene had valid reasons to not agree with Anissa about calling security, but that didn't stop her from feeling guilty as hell when the One Hundred kidnapped Jennifer and Anissa.

"The security guards are bloody useless!" she ranted to her mother as they walked to the parking lot. Eugene's temper tantrum earned quite a few stares from bystanders. She didn't lose her temper often, but when she did, the English accent she had gotten from her mother revealed itself in full force. "What are they even here for if they're gonna just let gang members waltz into Garfield?!"

"I know, baby, I know," Mom said soothingly.

"I should've helped," said Euge, lowering her voice. "What are 'my' powers even here for if I don't help people?"

"You couldn't have helped, Eugene," said her mother. "You were on the second floor when it happened. Be reasonable."

But the normal, more rational (and arguably more cowardly) part of Eugene knew that even if she had been on the first floor or even in the same classroom during the kidnapping, she couldn't have helped. If she showed any disloyalty to the One Hundred, they would kill her mother and then they would eventually go after Anissa and Eugene would have no one left.

The first thing Eugene did when she got home was turn on the TV. The Garfield Incident would for sure be the only thing on the news and even though Eugene usually couldn't handle the negativity, she needed the news. She needed to know what was going on.

"Witnesses say the girls are probably at the Seahorse Motel," said the reporter. "What's the accuracy in that statement?"

"We're trying to confirm details before we barge in," said Henderson. "This situation is a mess and one wrong move could escalate."

Anissa's words about everything in Freeland had already replayed in Eugene's head, filling her stomach with a gnawing anger and hopelessness. The last thing she needed was for something terrible to happen to Jennifer and Anissa because the police had waited too long in an attempt to not escalate things.

"Do you think the man at Club One Hundred who was rumored to potentially be Black Lightning could possibly return?" the reporter continued.

"I hope he doesn't," said Henderson. "If anything could make this messier, it's him."

Eugene screwed her eyes shut. "Shit."

She hadn't thought of Black Lightning - if this man at Club One Hundred was Black Lightning. But whoever he was, she needed him to get out of her life and stop fucking things up.

Think positive. Think positive.

The first step to solving any problem was figuring out your goal. Eugene's goal was to stop Lightning Guy from causing any chaos and making Tobias suspicious. Maybe she could use that as an excuse to intervene and save Jennifer and Anissa while she did it.

After getting the phone that she only used for One Hundred related tasks, she pulled up Tobias' number in her messaging app. She would've talked to him verbally, but she was too flustered and afraid of slipping up.

I'm afraid that Black Lightning-- Eugene stopped typing for a moment and hesitantly deleted part of her text. She was too afraid to say Black Lightning's name, fearing that Tobias would believe the rumors and come after her. I'm worried that lightning guy might make a comeback after the Garfield incident. Do you want me to intervene?

It only took Tobias ten minutes to respond, but to Eugene, those ten minutes felt like hours.

No. You're too valuable to be out and about. Let Lala handle it.

Eugene groaned. Maybe she just had to try harder

Obviously Lala doesn't know how to handle a situation like this if he's thick enough to let his guys near Garfield.

Don't do anything. Keep your head down. Lala may be stupid but you're not. You know the consequences.

Eugene pursed her lips at the thinly-veiled threat. Yes I do.

Good. I knew I could count on you to follow orders.

She angrily closed the app and slammed her phone on the table. He was right. He could count on her to keep her mouth shut and follow orders.

And she hated it.