The League of Governors

An Excerpt

Jason and Uncle Alexander made the return trip in good time, arriving a little less than an hour after they'd left. Uncle Alexander paid the cabbie while Jason walked up the steps to Bartie's front door. It was ajar.

"Hey," Jason called down to his uncle.

Uncle Alexander glanced up and Jason pushed the door wide.

"Wait," Uncle Alexander said. "Don't go in." He dashed up the steps and moved in front of Jason. He poked his head inside the door. "Bartie?" He turned to Jason and lowered his voice. "Stay out here. Call the police. Dial 999."

Jason pulled out his phone. "Don't go in there."

"I want to check on Bartie, make sure he's okay."

"Just wait for the police," Jason said, his voice a whisper.

"I'll be careful," Uncle Alexander said. "You wait for them out here." He stepped inside the door, setting the satchel on the floor of the foyer. "Bartie?"

Jason dialed the number and reported the break-in. He heard Uncle Alexander continuing to call Bartie's name, moving farther into the brownstone. Jason bounced on his toes, trying to hear sirens on approach. Birds chirped, a helicopter buzzed overhead but no sirens yet.

"You can come in," Uncle Alexander said.

Jason hurried inside. Chairs were overturned, the couches sat askew, the vase of ashes lay broken on the floor. He held his breath and walked toward Uncle Alexander's voice. Jason found him in the dining room.

"There's no sign of Bartie," he said.

"They took him."

"We don't know that for certain, but it's better than the alternative."

Jason's eyebrows rose.

"Meaning he's probably not dead."

Jason plopped into a dining room chair. "So now what?"

"Now we wait for the police."

A sound came from the pantry, like a canned good falling from a shelf.

Jason jumped up. "Does Bartie have a cat?" he asked Uncle Alexander, whispering again.

"Did you see a cat? C'mon." Uncle Alexander gestured toward the front door. 

A second later the pantry door sprang open. A ski-masked man bounded out and rushed Uncle Alexander, slamming him to the floor. Jason leaped onto the man's back and tightened one arm around his neck. The man shifted his weight and flung Jason off, bouncing him into the wall. His head rang. Uncle Alexander kicked and swiped the man's legs out from under him. 

The man rolled and reset himself, facing Uncle Alexander. Fists raised, Uncle Alexander delivered a kick to the man's chest. He buckled and Uncle Alexander slammed another kick into the man's ribs, forcing a gasp from his lungs. 

Uncle Alexander charged the intruder but the man dodged right. Uncle Alexander moved in and punched. The man blocked him and connected with an uppercut to Uncle Alexander's chin. He skittered backward.

Jason shook his head, tried to clear his vision. He'd never seen Uncle Alexander fight like this. Jason pushed himself to standing, summoning his power to his hands. Nothing happened.

Damnit.

"Jason, stay back." Uncle Alexander shook off the uppercut and double kicked, connecting on the right, but the man caught the kick on the left. He twisted and threw Uncle Alexander to the ground. 

Jason rushed forward and delivered a kick to the man's chest. The intruder fell backward, crushing a lamp knocked off an end table. He scrambled to his feet and braced for Jason's kick to his thigh. He reset and punched Jason's side, then grabbed his arm and spun him, swinging him into the hutch. The glass cracked. Jason sank.

Uncle Alexander grabbed the intruder in a choke hold. The man gouged at Uncle Alexander's arm, desperate to get air. He struggled, then pushed both of them backward, slamming Uncle Alexander into the doorframe. The man jerked his head once, twice, a third time, pounding Uncle Alexander's head into the wall behind him. Uncle Alexander lost consciousness and collapsed.

Jason pulled himself up into a fighting stance. The man shook his head. He swung his right fist.

Waves of black edged Jason's sight. He staggered and fell. The masked man moved in close but turned as two figures entered the front door. Jason tried to stand, to move away, but his stomach churned and he crumpled.

No sirens…why no sirens…