The car that had passed returned. It stopped somewhere close to where it had the first time. Again, flashlights shone out the windows. I could see someone leaning out.

“That’s not a patrol,” Foil said. “Most people who are doing a perimeter check don’t check and recheck themselves. They do the bare minimum and then they get on with their nights. Applies to some heroes that patrol. Learned that when I overheard some villains, a year back.”

“Doing a single loop, so as soon as the hero has come and gone, the criminals can come out of the woodwork? That’s really dumb,” I said.

“It really is,” Foil said. “Back when I was with the New York Wards, we’d mix it up every night, doubling back, doing loops… it helped that we had the bikes and it was an excuse to ride down subway tunnels and around any place without cars.”

I smiled. “I fly, so… same idea. It’s easy to cover the same ground if you move fast.”

“Gonna give my spider a pet, so Parian knows I’m alright,” Foil said, backing away from the rooftop’s edge.

I kept an eye out. Keeping my arm and the glowing projections out of sight of the ground, I checked the others.

Both of the other teams were staying put and doing things, but it didn’t look like they were fighting.

Below, a shift in the light’s movement caught my eye. I let my fingers drop away from the projection disc and focused on what was happening. Or in this case, what wasn’t happening. One beam had stopped moving.

I heard raised voices.

Fuck. They got caught.

“What’s going on?” Foil whispered.

I mimed for silence.

A car door opened. A man stood on the seat of the car to better look over the top of the vehicle and into the avenue between two buildings—one of which was the building Foil and I were standing on. He added the light of his own flashlight.

A woman, the driver, was saying something. I tried to hear, and I couldn’t make it out. I could have flown down, but I didn’t want to risk being spotted.

I tapped one ear, while glancing at Foil. She shook her head.

Below, the car drove away. The man who was standing on the seat swung back inside. I could see the gun he held as he did. The door shut as the car rounded a corner.

The spider helped Foil drop to the street level. I watched to ensure the coast was clear while she started, then dropped down, getting to the group’s hiding spot at the same time she did.

“He saw Candy,” Precipice said.

“I thought the coast was clear. Why did they come back?” Candy asked.