Just Cause Universe 3: Day of the Destroyer by Ian Thomas Healy Page B

Tommy’s gales. “All right, I guess that’s okay.”
    Tommy flew her back to his neighborhood and landed on the roof of his building. “I’m just going to change. I hate eating in my costume.”
    “What, right here?” Miranda blushed.
    “No, I live downstairs.”
    Her jaw dropped open. “You live here? But you just told me that! You don’t even know me. What if I was a criminal or something?”
    Tommy shrugged. “I don’t have anything to hide. I don’t wear a mask. My identity is public record. Anyone who wants to can find me. I want to be an accessible hero.”
    “I thought you were supposed to worry about protecting your loved ones.”
    “Not an issue for me.” Tommy smiled. “I’ll just change. Be right back.”
    He scampered down the fire escape and into his apartment, where he replaced his blue and white costume with a gray Mets t-shirt, khaki shorts, and tennis shoes without socks. He called Bobby to say he was dealing with the potential suicide and would be off the air for a little while. Then he pulled his flowing locks back with a rubber band and returned to the roof.
    Miranda did a double-take when she saw him. “Oh my God, you look so different without your costume! You look so ordinary.”
    “That’s what I’m shooting for,” he said. He led Miranda to the rooftop access to the main stairwell and down to the street below.
    Geno’s was only a block away. Tommy frequented the place both for lunch and in the evenings, when it turned from a bohemian-style cafe into a full-blown meat market. Geno, a butch Italian with a chest full of hair and an ass like two hams side by side, waved at Tommy and bade him sit anywhere. Miranda deferred to him to order, so Tommy requested two Monte Cristos and cappuccinos, which Geno produced with a flourish.
    “So…” Tommy blew on the steaming coffee. “Who’s this man who drove you to jump off a bridge?”
    Miranda looked scandalized for a moment, until she realized that was exactly what had happened, and she folded in on herself, looking glum.
    “I’m sorry. That was insensitive of me.” He reached out and touched Miranda’s hand on the tabletop. “I’m not very good at this kind of thing.”
    She shook her head. “No, you’re doing fine. It’s just me being stupid. He’s my boss. I’m his secretary. It’s a really small brokerage. Just the two of us, really, except for an occasional temp. I’ve been there for two years.”
    “And somewhere along the way, you fell in love with him?”
    “Yes.” She sniffled and stared down at her sandwich. “But we can’t ever be together.”
    “Is he married?”
    Miranda raised her eyes up to meet Tommy’s. “No. He’s gay. Tommy, I fell in love with a gay man and didn’t know it.”
    Tommy didn’t mean to laugh; it just slipped out between bites of his sandwich. It started in his belly like an explosion of fireflies and built into a burst of guffaws that made Miranda’s cheeks turn bright red. Geno came over to see if he was all right but all Tommy could do was wave him away. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” he gasped to Miranda. “Honey, you and I are more alike than you know. You’re in love with a gay man, and I’m in love with a straight man. There, I said it.” Tommy’s laughter abated as quickly as it had begun. “I’ve been lying to myself for so long, it feels good to stop.”
    Realization washed over Miranda’s face. “Wait, you’re gay too?”
    That set Tommy off in another gale of laughter. “Oh my,” was all he could manage for a couple of minutes.
    “I mean, after that feature in Life magazine, I thought you and Sundancer were an item.” Miranda looked like she was ready to sink right into the floor.
    “Sundancer is a dear friend of mine,” said Tommy. “But she doesn’t do a thing for me, if you know what I mean.”
    “Well, maybe you haven’t met the right woman yet. Or you were abused as a child. Or whatever makes you gay.”
    Tommy smiled. “Nothing makes