“You checked on our local troublemaker last night?” he whispered.

“Last thing,” Edict said. “I put in a suggestion, we could do another wrong-address grocery delivery. Make sure she has something to eat, get her in a better mood. She’s been restless.”

“I saw that note, yeah,” Licit said. He paused.

“We gotta get her somewhere better. Armstrong was making noises about wanting to make overtures again. Seeing if she’s receptive.”

“Armstrong is way too fucking busy with Boston turning itself upside down right now. Whatever they were doing backfired hard.”

“Shit. I really don’t want to get pulled into Boston to relieve their capes. What do I do with my kid?”

“You’ll figure it out. Reason I asked about Damsel is it’d be real nice to know where she is if and when we have to leave town.”

“She disappeared?”

“I patrolled last night, trying to do the polyphasic sleep schedule, she wasn’t at home. I couldn’t find her.”

“Shit. Who would even tell her, though?”

The office door opened. Aaron emerged.

“We’re going to Boston?” Licit asked.

“Afraid so,” Aaron said. “Edict, what was the last time you saw Damsel?”

“Last night, nine thirty, ten? It’s in my notes.”

“That’s the last sighting,” Aaron said. “Someone of her likeness was seen on a bus. It means the station wasn’t paying attention. We don’t know for sure.”

“Who would tell her?” Edict asked, again.

“I spotted Kidney Stan, Fappy and the rest of that group not all that far from her neighborhood,” Licit said. “I grilled them, didn’t get anything.”

“Are those the meth-heads or the stoner teens?” Aaron asked.

Licit was all business as he explained. He’d always been better at the cape stuff, the mission. “These are the stoners. The only meth-head around here that has a fun name is scared shitless of Damsel. Kidney Stan and Fappy are the same idiot kids who thought they could hire themselves out to our local villain as henchmen. They realized they bit off more than they could chew when she tried to rob a bank—you were there for that.”

“I was,” Aaron said. “I was more focused on the bank and the coordination with Boston than I was on the inciting factors.”

“We told them to steer clear, because they’re enablers,” Edict added. “They might have told her.”

“It’s looking more and more like she found out somehow,” Aaron said. “Edict, figure out your babysitting. The office will cover the cost, so pick someone you’re comfortable with.”

“Thank you.”

“Licit, you’ll have a chaperone for the next bit.”

“Sure.”

“But get yourselves to Boston. Get in touch with the PRT team there, and keep an eye out for our local would-be warlord. Whatever she gets up to over there, it’s not going to help things.”

Eclipse x.2