JOB COMPLETE. PAY WITHHELD FOR NOW. WILL DISCUSS. VACATE LYME AS WARDENS ARE INVESTIGATING VILLAIN PRESENCE.

There was a pause.

If they called, demanding answers, then there wasn’t much we could do. But if they didn’t, it was a potential chance to take two capes out of the equation.

There were already two angry emails from mercenaries. One was Lionwing. The other was an encrypted handle. Apparently their accounts had been frozen by my interference with Love Lost’s.

That seemed like an oversight to me, but the economy was a fragile and nascent, and what they were working with looked like a system built upon layers of trust.

A third angry email. Contender. My enemy with his personalized, no-powers arena.

I paged through quickly. I had to go back a week to find it—the anti-parahuman group. Love Lost had correspondence with them, setting up a meeting. Twice, she asked them to meet in person, and she was rebuffed. They didn’t want to meet a dangerous parahuman, even if they were armed.

Which meant the Lyme center, the anti-parahumans having weapons, and a few other terms.

It meant Love Lost told them her objectives.

I HAVE TWO ENEMIES WHO NEED TO DIE.
BOTH PARAHUMANS. THEN I GO.
BORDER WORLD. WE ARE AT YOUR DISPOSAL IN
TIME OF NEED BUT WE DO NOT INTERFERE. I REST.
YOU KNOW MY STORY. WHEN THE FLAME OF MY REVENGE
BURNS OUT I REST.

“She can’t,” Precipice said. “I don’t see it. I can’t envision her if she isn’t brimming with rage.”

“Who’s the second parahuman who needs to die?” I asked.

Precipice shook his head, but he didn’t respond.

“Cradle?”

“It’s possible.”

I scrolled down. From Driskey_Whinker@GIMELNET, a simple question:

How can we trust you will go?

THERE IS NOTHING I CAN SAY TO CONVINCE YOU.
YOU KNOW ME & MY FACE
THE CITY IS LOST ALREADY
IF YOU WANT IT YOU CAN HAVE IT
IF YOU WANT HELP I WILL GRANT IT AT ANY TIME
GIVE ME ARMS TO HOLD AND CLAIM MY CORNER. TO SECURE MY REST. I WILL GIVE AND I WILL GRANT IN EXCHANGE
ARMS, AMMUNITION, I SLIT TWO THROATS
THEN YOU ARE RID OF THE WORST OF US

“The city is lost,” I said. “She said this four days ago?”

Another message from ‘Driskey’.

Why do you think the city is lost? You sound mad.

MAD AND MADDENED. YES.
BUT MY PARTNER SNAG TRIES TO COMMUNICATE
I LISTEN
HE IS FAR AWAY AND HE IS CLOSE. DEAD AND ALIVE
HE SHOUTS AT ME FROM THE BOTTOM OF A WELL FILLED WITH
THE POWER OF A DESTROYED ALIEN WORLD AND I HEAR ECHOES OF WHISPERS
HE SAYS THE CITY IS DOOMED AND HE TRIES TO EXPLAIN WHY AND
I KNOW IT IS TRUE
IS THIS MAD YOU CAN WORK WITH? WE MEET AND WE TALK. YOU BRING ALL THE SOLDIERS YOU WANT. I WILL GIVE YOU NO TROUBLE. THIS I GUARANTEE. PHONE ME.

That was all there was.

“Fuck me,” Precipice said.