“I’m not equipped for dealing with that kind of thing,” Emily said. “Nor are my sisters.”

“Sisters, plural?” Handshake asked.

Emily felt her lips thinning into a line. “I misspoke.”

Handshake snorted. “Sure. Would you be interested in coming?”

Emily shook her head, even if he couldn’t see the gesture. “No. It’s way too dangerous, and you haven’t offered me much.”

“What if I tell you the meeting is about a subject you’re near and dear to?”

Emily’s heart froze, and for a moment she found it hard to breathe. Had Cement copied the drive? Had someone retrieved it in that river and brought it to him? “What?” she asked.

Handshake cleared his throat. “The Cabal.”

Emily blinked. “What about— You mean Cement wants to know about them too?”

“It’s more than that. He knows some things I don’t, and I know some he doesn’t. It’s a trade. And an excuse to get back on the same page, or at least to set aside some of our . . . mutual antagonism.”

Emily paced back and forth before the window, considering. Would this be any more dangerous than her last excursion? The obvious and immediate answer was a resounding yes. Going out with Heroes was a risk, but if they discovered her, she would be arrested or worse.

Going out to confront a Villain. An actual, scary Villain? That was a whole lot worse.

“I don’t like it,” Emily said.

“I can up the ante a little,” Handshake said. “I want to know what you know about them too. And I can offer you other things. Money, information. Not too much, mind you. What you know might not be worth that much to me.”

Emily swallowed. “I’ll think about it.”

“My meeting is tomorrow evening. Think about it until then. It’s one grand per powered head that comes to help. And I’ll tell you what I know about the Cabal. A name you shouldn’t be repeating if you can avoid it. It’s unique enough to stand out in a normal conversation.”

“I know,” Emily said. “We’ve been calling them the Clowns.”

“Hah! That’s brilliant. Anyway, I’ll text you the address for the meeting place. Be there, or don’t.” The line went dead with a happy little chime.

Emily contemplated throwing her phone, but she held back. Shows of violence like that were just not her.

“Need help?”

Jumping, Emily looked up and found herself staring, wide-eyed, at Sam. “H-hey,” she said. “Uh, no?”

Sam tilted her head to the side. “You sure? You don’t look great.”

“I’m okay,” Emily said. “Just a, uh, hard phone call.”

“Anything to do with the people in your room?”

For the second time in far too short a while, Emily’s blood went cold. “What?”