The sound of Ari’s fingers flying over keys with swift clacks filled Candace’s ears. Not only did her girlfriend help design her suit, after finding out she was, y’know, “different,” Ari was often the one thing that stood between Candace getting caught or killed, feeding her information pulled from various sources and information hubs. Ari’s methods weren’t exactly legal, but she knew what she was doing to cover her ass. She was the Guy in the chair. Well, Gal.

“No residences. It’s all event spaces the owner rents out for fancy affairs. Usually just the bank is occupied, and that’s during business hours.”

“Good.” Relief pulsed through Candace. She didn’t see anyone in trouble. What she did notice was how the third, fourth, and fifth stories were ablaze, but not the first. “I don’t think this was an accident.”

“Me neither,” Ari murmured. “There’ve been other explosions like this one across the country. All banks.”

“What can you tell me?”

“Give me two seconds.”

Candace approached the building, mindful of the blaze above. She narrowed her eyes, trying to see into the dark lobby.

“Apparently a few instances where there have been riots over the past handful of years, from protests to rowdy sports fans, some banks were seemingly caught in the destruction. It’s not until after everything has calmed down that authorities realize it was a job. They don’t have anything to go on, what with most of the evidence being burned to a crisp.”

Candace froze when something shifted farther into the darkness of the building. Someone was definitely in there—a burglar or someone working late who might be about to walk into some serious shit.

“Someone’s inside. They might be in trouble.”

“Can you wait for backup?” Ari asked.

Candace threw a glance over her shoulder. The street was still chaos, officers now trying to get the barriers they’d erected to corral protesters out of the way for approaching emergency response.

“If they need help, I’m it.” Taking a slow breath, Candace slipped into the building, quick and quiet. She moved with her hands out, feeling along the tables and dividers meant to guide lines of customers. The deeper she went, the darker things grew, even with the blaze of the fire outside.

“I can’t see,” she whispered. This damn hood. She and Ari were in the process of designing a new one, that would let her see in low visibility situations exactly like this one, but it was still a prototype. Candace pushed the hood from her head, taking a slow breath as the world broke fresh against her senses. It was a risk—someone might see her face—but better than walking into an ambush or the barrel of a gun.

“Be careful, babe.” Ari’s voice drifted into her ear. “Emergency response is trying to get through, but it’s a mess out there.”