It was one of four special codes that had been shared with me, but there were apparently six in total. ‘Can you wait a minute’ translated to ‘should I hit the alarm?’ and any yes or no answer was confirmation. It was good that she’d asked, faced with an unfamiliar situation and faces she didn’t know.

Really annoying that Tattletale had caught it so quickly. Now we’d have to change it up.

The receptionist typed for a few long seconds, then paused. I could see the change in what was on the screen in the tint and brightness of the light that reflected off of her glasses.

“Lobby, stairs, or elevator to an upper floor?” she asked.

I looked around the lobby. I was wondering exactly what she meant when I saw her hand hovering over that corner of the keyboard.

“Stairs,” I said. “Thank you.”

Without a smile, the receptionist nodded.

We headed to the stairwell. The lighting was even more focused there, halogen bright, highlighting stairs and wall without shining into our eyes at any point.

“Come on,” Sveta told the Old Man. “Lean on me. You’ve fallen down enough stairs today.”

“Funny girl,” the Old Man replied, humorless.

Egg, Engel, and Scraping were utterly silent, but they followed. Our progress was slow, because the Old Man was hurt but he didn’t want to be outright carried.

“Curious,” Tattletale said, walking with her gloved hands clasped behind her. Her coat flapped around her legs as she ascended. “You say we’re ‘going in’, but then she brings up the lobby. Another code, but I didn’t get this one.”

“You’re being annoying,” I told her. “Surprisingly annoying.”

“Very,” Sveta echoed.

“I’m just being me,” Tattletale said.

“Is it a thing where you get cranky and ramp it up?”

“No. On a day this lousy, we need to find joy in the little things. This is interesting. The heart of the heroes.”

“I can’t help but wonder if you revel in these lousy sorts of days,” I observed. “I remember the Undersiders doing quite well when Brockton Bay was at its worst.”

“Ah,” Tattletale said. There was a gleam in her eyes as I glanced back. “I sense a teeny tiny bit of resentment there.”

“A bit.”

“You’re not wrong. I like picking up the pieces and puzzling them back together. Is that the dark line of thought that’s been eating at you for the past fifteen minutes? Resentment? Thinking about how the troubles in Brockton Bay started with Coil doing something similar?”

“No,” I said.

“Can’t puzzle you out right now.”

We reached the first landing. I looked up, and I spotted the security camera.

“What?” Tattletale asked.

When I reached for her, she was already pulling back. Sveta took my cue, grabbing Tattletale and keeping her from retreating.

I raised a hand, waving at the security camera.