Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Chp.1
Chp.2
Chp.3
Chp.4
Chp.5
Chp.6
Chp.7
Chp.8
Chp.9
Chp.10
Chp.11
Chp.12
Chp.13
Chp.14
Chp.15
Chp.16
Chp.17
Chp.18
Chp.19
Chp.20
Chp.21
Chp.22
Chp.23
Chp.24
Chp.25
Chp.26
Chp.27
Chp.28
Chp.29
Chp.30
Chp.31
Chp.32
Chp.33
Chp.34
Chp.35
Epilogue
Authors Note
Super Sales
On
Super Heroes
Book 2
By William D. Arand
Copyright © 2017 William D. Arand
Cover design © 2017 William D. Arand
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by an electronic or mechanical means - except in the case of brief quotations embodied in articles or reviews - without written permission from its publisher.
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
Copyright © 2017 William D. Arand
All rights reserved.
Dedicated:
To my wife, Kristin, who encouraged me in all things.
To my son, Harrison, who now lets me sleep, but wants to help me “type type” on my keyboard.
To my family, who always told me I could write a book if I sat down and tried.
Special Thanks to:
Niusha Gutierrez
Caleb Shortcliffe
Austin Youngblood
Michael Haglund
Steven Lobue
Thanks to my Beta Readers:
Michael Cramer
Eric Leaf
Daniel Schinhofen
Chris Chan
Alexander Hodge
Timothy Schwemmer
Chris Prochaska
Nogard53
I appreciate you reading through an unedited nightmare
And finally:
“Ha!! Please tell me I’m very interesting.”~Steve Middleton being told that he was in book two of Super Sales on Super Heroes. 11/19/17 2:15 PM MST
Rest in peace Steve. Thanks for making me feel special as an author.
Chapter 1 - What They Understand -
Felix was roughly pushed into the chair, practically falling out of it with the force of the shove.
“Sit,” growled out the heavyset officer.
Looking up at the man with an unamused face Felix laid his hands flat on the table. Sitting there quietly he inspected the room they’d put him in.
White bare walls, table with four chairs, a single entry, and a very obvious one-way mirror.
Before the pudgy uniformed police officer could do or say anything more, a woman in slacks and a blazer strolled in. She held a binder under her arm and seemed to be in her mid thirties.
Quirking a brow Felix turned his attention to the woman.
“Mr. Campbell,” said the woman. “I’m Detective Torres.”
“Morning, Detective Torres,” Felix said evenly.
“I’d like you ask you a few questions, and then have you look at a few things,” she said as she took the seat across from him.
“And you’re gonna be real helpful,” muttered the cop, looming over Felix.
Eying the man Felix contemplated the situation.
He didn’t have to be here. They weren’t actually holding him on anything, and the moment he got resistant they’d probably be forced to cut him loose. Or admit they had nothing.
If they really wanted, they could hold him for twenty-four hours on nothing.
But that was okay. They’d left early from Skippercity for this very reason. He didn’t want to spend any time here, but it fit within his expectations.
“Uh huh,” Felix replied, looking back to Detective Torres.
She was an attractive police officer. Darker skinned, brown eyes, short black hair. She had a hard set to her mouth and eyes though. Felix could only imagine she worked and fought her way through the ranks.
Battling her coworkers as often as crooks, he imagined.
“First, what’s your reason for coming to Tilen?” asked the officer.
“Business. Our ventures in Skippercity have reached a bit of a plateau. Only so many antiques and heirlooms in one city. You know how it is. Expand, grow, or die,” Felix said honestly.
“And what business is that exactly? Slaves?” said the detective, leaning forward in her seat.
“Hardly. Slavery isn’t legal here. We’re looking to expand our pawn shop business, and we’re also considering a few other opportunities. In fact, we’ve already got all the prerequisite licenses and approvals on behalf of the city. It’s one of the reasons we came here openly,” Felix said, leaning back into his chair.
He kept his posture open and loose. He wasn’t hiding anything and he didn’t want her to think he was.
“I’m very much aware. I pulled all your paperwork to give it a once over and everything does appear to be on the up and up.
“Moving on. Do you know these individuals?” she asked, flipping out several photos in front of him.
Victoria Volante stood in all her glory with a sword upraised in front of her. Dark brown curly hair and dark green eyes.
The picture next to that was Kit in her Augur costume, her dark brown curls slipping out from the bottom of her helmet, the beautiful face hidden.
Last was Miu, dressed in a security uniform and with a no nonsense look on her serene Asian features.
“Yep. Head of internal security, head of HR, and head of my personal bodyguards,” Felix said, identifying each one.
“And these two?” asked Torres, pulling out two more photos.
The first was Andrea with a sub-machine gun pulled in tight to her shoulder in a firing stance. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, the bright locks pulled back from her “girl next door” features. You couldn’t see her mismatched eyes, but he was sure they were flat and dead. She was clearly in her Myriad persona.
The second was a photo of Ioana. Clad in leather armor, a sword held out in front of her, one boot smashed into the pulpy remains of someone’s head.
Plain featured, huge, with a shaved head. She was every bit the intimidating warrior he knew her to be.
“Yep. The big one is the chief of external security for Legion. The other is my personal secretary,” Felix said, holding the photo up. “Never seen Ioana with no hair though. Can I get a copy of this? Felicia would probably like it.”
Detective Torres’ mouth became a thin line and she took the photo back from him.
“She’s responsible for the deaths of multiple Heroes and Villains. She’s a murderer,” said the detective.
“Supposedly. She’s never actually been convicted of anything. In fact, I do believe there’s been a recent change in all of the pending charges against her. The vast majority were ruled… well… inconclusive really, due to a lack of evidence,” Felix said, giving the detective a smile.
“And that brings me to the next one,” said Torres, ignoring him.
She picked a photo out of her folder and dropped it onto the table.
It was Lily.
She stood in the middle of a photo that had been taken at considerable distance. She was wreathed in red and blue sigils and was clearly fighting with someone else.
“Yes?” Felix prompted, not giving up anything they didn’t have.
“Mab.”
“Uh-huh”
“Killed her own clients.”
“Supposedly,” Felix said neutrally, fighting a smile.
In truth, Lily, Lauren, and Kit had spent the last three weeks going through HR records. Every charge they could find, they argued and filed against in whatever fashion they could cook up.
Lauren Aston, Lily’s new legal apprentice, apparently had a real knack for that work. Lily had praised her several times to him.