Tattletale stood at the very edge of the floor, with a twenty-five story drop just in front of her. The wind whipped her hair around her, and she didnt even have a handhold available. Shatterbird had cleared out all of the window panes, long ago.

She lowered her binoculars. Hes gone. If he was going to pull something off, hed want to watch and make sure everything went off without a hitch.

I could have gone with them, Imp said. Listened in.

Not without us knowing their full set of powers, Tattletale said.

Imp folded her arms, pouting, I thought you were one of the cool ones.

Othellos a stranger, Tattletale said. Id think he has an imaginary friend who can mess around with us, but I didnt see any sign of anyone invisible walking around.

Isnt that the point? Regent asked.

No dust or glass being disturbed, none of that. I might think his friend is invisible and intangible, but then whats the point? Accord tends to have people with good powers. Citrine, only bits I could figure out were that shes got an offensive power, something with substance, and her focus was in a strange place. She was more focused on places in the room where the strongest powers were clustered, and her focus was fairly indiscriminate beyond that. Either her power wasnt anything that anyone here would have been able to defend against, like Flechettes arrows or a controlled version of Scrubs blasts, or shes a trump classification.

Whats that? Regent asked.

Official classification for capes who can either acquire new powers on the fly, Tattletale gestured towards Grue, Have an interaction with other powers that cant be categorized or they nullify powers.

Shes powerful, then, Regent said.

She acts like shes powerful, Tattletale said, And she probably is. But that database of PRT records we had didnt have anything in it about those two. I dont know where he finds those guys, but Accord collects some damn heavy hitters.

Parian broke her spell of silence. You keep talking like were going to fight them.

Threat assessment, Tattletale said. She made her way back to her chair, sitting at the long table. Be stupid not to know what were getting into, especially with someone like him.

Not to mention weve gotten in fights with pretty much everyone who ever set up shop in the Bay, Regent commented.

Theres nothing imminent, Grue said. Lets focus on more immediate problems.

He turned his attention my way.

Me? I asked.

Hes right. Weve been so busy preparing for possible fallout that we havent had time to discuss this, Tattletale said.

Im a non-factor. The damage is done, and its a question of the dust settling, I said, staring down at my gloves. Id altered some of my costume, but the real adjustments would have to wait until I had time. Id made up the extra cloth in an open area of my territory I was devoting to the purpose, but hadnt had time to turn it into something to wear for tonight. Some of my mask, the back compartment of my armor and my gloves were more streamlined. Or less streamlined, depending on how one looked at it. Sharper lines, convex armor panels that flared out more, gloves with more edges for delivering damage if I had to get in a hand to hand fight.

Id only done some of the armor, pieces of my costume that were already battered and worn. My gloves, my mask and the back compartment of my armor tended to take the most abuse. Id update the rest later.

Im not sure its that simple, Grue said, his voice quiet. He reached across the table and gripped my hand, squeezing it. Have we double checked to see what bridges theyve burned for us? My parents arent showing any sign of interference.

Mom wouldnt care either way, Aisha said. She might try to capitalize on the attention with appearances on television if she could get money for it.

Yeah, Grue agreed.

My family wouldnt care, Tattletale said. Id be surprised if they didnt already know. Theyd choose to ignore it, Id bet. Parian? Youve covered your bases.

Most of my family is dead. The ones who arent dead already know, Parian said. She looked out toward the window, at the city lights under the night sky.

Tattletale nodded, Lets see Rachel isnt a problem, not really. Never had a secret identity.

Rachel shrugged. Her attention was on her dogs. They were shrinking, their extra mass sloughing away. She already had Bastard sitting next to her, his fur spiky and wet from the transformation.

And if they tried to come at me through my family, theyd get what they deserved, Regent said.

Why? Parian asked.

His dads Heartbreaker, Tattletale said.

Oh. Oh wow.

Funny thing is, Regent said, If you think about it, we might be bigger than Heartbreaker, now. People all over America know who we are, and Im not sure if Heartbreaker is known that far to the south or west.

Thats not our focus right now, Grue said, squeezing my hand. Its good that were talking about safeguards and damage control, but discussing villains and the rest of America can wait. They came after Skitter while she was out of costume.

How are you coping? Tattletale asked, leaning forward over the table. You were pretty heavy-handed tonight. We discussed it, sure, but I thought youd at least pretend to play ball with them.

I didnt need superpowered intuition to figure out they werent going to cooperate no matter what I said, I replied.

But you were provoking them. Valefor especially. You up for this, with all the other distractions?

This is what Ive got left, isnt it? The good guys decided to play their biggest card. They couldnt beat Skitter, so they beat Taylor. As far as Im concerned, theres no reason not to throw myself into this, to deal with both heroes and villains as a full-time thing. I lay down the law, because now Ive got time to enforce it. I can be stricter with the local villains, back you guys up if they cause trouble, and dedicate the rest of my time to my territory.

Dangerous road to travel down, Tattletale said. You need to rest, to have downtime.

And do what? Go to a movie? Im not sure if any theaters are open-

They are, Tattletale said.

-And I couldnt go even if they were. My face is plastered all over the news, and Ive got a tinker who might be watching every computer system and surveillance camera in the city, because shes not willing to go against her bosses. I cant go shopping, cant leave my territory unless Im in costume and ready for a fight.

More time to go after them, Regent said. You cant let this slide.

Im not planning to, I said, standing from my seat.

Hold on, Grue said, as my hand came free of his grip.

Walk with me, I said. All of you. The city may be getting better, but there shouldnt be lights on in this building, and its only a matter of time before one of the local heroes decides to stop by and see why.

We can take them, Rachel said, from the rear of the group.

We can, and we will, I said, entering the stairwell. On our terms, not theirs.

Theres enough enemies to fight, Parian said. She had to hurry around the table to catch up. We dont need more.

I agree, Grue said. Not that I dont understand the need for some response, but youre talking aggression.

Im feeling aggressive, I said. I think. I dont know. Hard to pin it all down.

Might be better to wait until you have a better idea of what youre feeling, Grue said.

It doesnt matter, I said, stepping down onto the staircase. Logically, theres no choice but to act on this. You heard Valefor. The villain community wont respect us until we answer the PRT, and the so-called good guys wont have a reason to think twice about doing it again.

The rest of us arent as vulnerable as you are, Regent said. Dont want to sound disrespectful or anything, but we dont have the same kinds of civilian lives to protect.

Therere others, I said. Part of the reason we uphold these rules is because it sets precedents. Other villains hold to the rules and we benefit, the opposite is true.

The flip side of it, Tattletale said, Is that were risking an escalation in conflict.

I dont see how they can escalate, I said. As I see it, they played the last card they have. The harder we hit them now, the more clear it is to outsiders that the PRT doesnt have an answer. I can show that it doesnt bother me, and the effect is the same.

Doesnt it, though? Tattletale asked. Doesnt it bother you?

Yes, I said. In terms of me, I dont know. I cant say for sure whether its justified or not. But they went after my dad.

I get that, Grue said, Id be pissed if they went after Aisha. God, you know, when I was swallowed up by Echidna, and she was filling my head with all the worst stuff I could think of, revised memories, it-

He stopped, and I paused to glance back up the stairs at him.

Bro? Aisha asked.

He took a second to compose himself, then said, I get what youre saying, Taylor. Believe me. I was buried in it. If anyone here knows what its like to want to protect people-

Thats not it, I cut him off.

No?

Its not about me wanting to protect my dad from the aftermath of all of this. Thats done, and right now hes hurting more than he has since my mom died. Some of thats on me, and some of its on the people who sent Defiant and Dragon into the fray. The damage is done.

And you want to go after the non-capes who made the call?

Yeah, I said. Im sick of being on the defensive. I hate waiting for the other shoe to drop, because theres always another shoe, and always a bigger threat. Speaking of, whats your interpretation on the company we had tonight, Tattletale? How do you think theyre going to play this?

The Ambassadors are on the up and up, as far as I can guess their direction. Accords unpredictable, which is kind of ironic. Id say theyre lower priority.

Theyre going to stick to the deal?

Until Accords neurosis pushes him to break it, Tattletale said.

Then whos a higher priority? The Teeth?

Lots of aggressive powers. Butchers at the forefront of it all. Spree has rapid fire duplicate generation, Vex has the ability to fill empty spaces with small, razor-sharp forcefields, Hemorrhagia is a limited hemokinetic with some personal biokinesis, Animos can transform for limited times and packs a power nullification ranged attack while in his other shape. Theres two or three others.

Im asking about their goals, I said. Any clue what theyre thinking? Are they going to come after us?

Probably. We seem weak and unbalanced right now, especially with Parian not doing the absolute best job protecting her territory.

Im trying, Parian said.

Youd be doing better if youd accept help, Tattletale retorted. Except you dont want to do that because you havent committed to this.

I will. Im still figuring out the more basic stuff you guys figured out ages ago.

Commitment on a mental level, P. Thats more than just coming to meetings. You dont have to like us, but respect us, get to know us, trust us and maybe allow for the occasional intimate moment.

Parian snapped her head around to stare at Tattletale, in a way that was rather more dramatic than the statement warranted.

Not that kind of intimate. Sorry hon. Trust me when I say were all pretty accepting here, and theres no reason to lie; none of us girls here bat for the other team.

I didnt say anything.

Of course, Tattletale said, smiling. But I was talking about letting us see more of the girl behind the mask. Share those vulnerabilities, let us give you a shoulder to cry on.

I dont need one, Parian said, And that has nothing to do with me defending my territory.

More than you think, Tattletale said. She glanced at me, Theyre the type to prey on weakness, and Parians capable of only protecting a short section of her perimeter.

Hire people? I asked. Henchmen, mercenaries.

I dont want to put innocents in the line of fire, Parian said.

You dont want others to suffer if the Teeth come after the people you wanted to protect, either, I said.

I dont know what you want me to do. If I call for help, theyll retreat, and we wind up wasting your time, while leaving me looking and feeling useless.

Theres an alternative, I said.

What?

What I was talking about before. Going on the offensive. Only its not about just the good guys. Im talking about targeting our enemies, wiping them out before they hurt us and give us cause.

Thats dangerous, Grue said.

You guys keep saying things along those lines, I responded. I shouldnt be so strict with our enemies, I shouldnt ratchet up my involvement in things, I shouldnt be aggressive. Its more dangerous to leave them loose, to always give our enemies the first move.

The flip side to that coin is that it gives everyone else we deal with less reason to play ball. We need to get other villains to parley if were going to seriously hold this territory. The Ambassadors are only step one, Grue said. If some other group comes into town and theyre considering joining us, are they going to look at whatever humiliating defeat we visit on the Fallen and feel its better to attack us first?

Escalation, Parian echoed Tattletales earlier statement.

I sighed. Atlas had descended from his vantage point above the building, and flew in to land next to me. I ran my hand along his horn.

Were not the idea here isnt to attack you, Taylor, Tattletale said. Hell, what they did was low. You said it yourself, in that cafeteria. But youre talking about changing our dynamic, and its a dynamic thats been working. Weve already been through some high-tension, high-conflict scenarios. A bunch of times when we went days without a chance to breathe. You want to ratchet that up?

Not entirely, I said. If we do this right, if we play this smart, then this should reduce the amount of conflict. I need to know if you guys are on board.

Yeah, Rachel said.

Im in, Regent replied. Imp nodded.

My- my vote doesnt count, Parian said. I only wanted a show of force, to see if we couldnt scare the Teeth. Only I think it had the opposite effect, because what you guys were saying about Butcher is spooking me. If you guys want to help me with them, okay. But I dont want to commit to anything major here, and I cant tell you guys how to operate, because Im new to this. Skip my vote.

Okay, I said. Tattletale? Grue?

Ive already said my bit, Tattletale said. You call the shots in the field, and act as the face of the group, I do the behind the scenes stuff. Thats how we worked it out. Im kosher with that.

Grue said, I have one thing to say. Think it over, or keep it in mind. We made it further than most groups do. Some villains set their sights high, and they fall. Others try to eliminate their enemies and get eliminated in turn. Still others set their mind on a goal and they strive for it, only to get worn down along the way.

He paused, glancing away. I didnt interrupt. Picking the right words? Thinking about himself, as one of the ones who were worn down by circumstance? Or maybe he was thinking about me in that light.

Maybe part of the reason we made it this far was because you werent striving for that. When we were villains, you were trying to be the good guy, behind the scenes. When we were trying to take out some pretty nightmarish opponents, your focus was on surviving more than it was on attacking. I didnt get the impression you craved to be team leader or to rule the city, but you took on the job because you knew the alternative would be disaster.

I nodded. Even if Id wanted to say something in response, I wasnt sure what I wouldve wanted to say.

Maybe the reason Im less comfortable with this is that its not your usual pattern. I feel like youre wanting to be aggressive because youre hurt and angry. Theres nothing to temper it. Think about it, okay? I wont tell you not to do this. Despite everything I just said, I do trust your instincts, and Im not sure I trust mine these days.

Grue-

I dont. Thats me being honest. Do what you have to do, but do it with your eyes wide open.

Okay, I said. Ill try.

I had a sudden impulse to hug him, to hold him as close and as tight as our costumes allowed, my arms tight around his broad back, his muscled arms holding me just as tight.

The idea alone made me feel like I might suddenly burst into tears, and I found it startling, inexplicable.

I didnt hug Grue; I wasnt sure enough about what I was feeling or why, didnt want to come across as anything but a leader. Leading this team was something I could do. Something concrete, with real dividends.

Why had I brought Atlas here? Had I already been thinking about running? Avoiding further contact with these guys? Avoiding Grue? It was disconcerting to think about.

Tattletale was staring at me. Could she read what I was experiencing, or get a sense of the emotions that were warring inside me?

Okay, I said, and I was surprised at how normal I felt. Were playing this much like we did against the Nine, only we arent waiting for better excuses to do it. Groups of three, one group active at a time, one target at a time.

Who are we fighting? Rachel asked.

The Fallen, the PRT, and the Teeth.

And youre in this group of three for tonights mission? Tattletale asked.

Yeah. I needed a release, to do something.

She glanced at Grue, and I suspected there was some kind of unspoken agreement there. She met my eyes, or the opaque yellow lenses that covered my eyes. Ill come.

Youre ops, I said, I thought the whole point of that was that youd stay behind the scenes and out of trouble.

Ill come, she repeated herself. No argument, no manipulation. Only the statement.

I sighed.

Me too, Rachel said.

Not sure thats a good idea, Tattletale said. Maybe someone more subtle?

No, I said. Its fine.

Subtlety wasnt what I had in mind.

Bentley crashed into the side of the PRT van. The vehicle rocked, but it was set up to be in the field amid villains with superstrength and literally earth-shattering powers. It didnt tip over.

Two more dogs crashed into the side of it, and the thing fell. The PRT officer in body armor fell from the turret at the top, his armor absorbing just enough of the impact that he wasnt badly hurt.

The containment foam sprayers might have been an issue, but none of the uniforms were in a position to use the stuff. Id come prepared, and each sprayer was either thoroughly snagged on spider silk at the top of the equipped trucks, or the PRT agents who were wearing the portable tanks were bound, blind and under siege by massed bugs.

Dovetail flew after Atlas and I, a trail of luminous slivers of light falling in her wake. She was good at maneuvering in such a way that the sparks didnt fall on the PRT uniforms and heroes below, even with my swarm crawling over her head, shoulders and arms. Where the slivers touched something solid, they ballooned out into what Tattletale had described as soft force fields, encasing the subject. Anyone could push hard enough against the force fields to break them, even with multiple fields layered over one another, but it impeded movement, and she could hover over a target to keep reinforcing the forcefields until the victim could be smothered in more permanent containment foam.

It might have been a crummy power, but she was fast. If she could have thrown the forcefield-generating slivers further than she did when she flung her arms out, she might have had us.

It was to my advantage that it was easier to dodge pursuit than to match someone elses course exactly.

Didnt hurt that she had bugs in her nose, ears and mouth, and that she was being bound by silk, limiting her range of movement with every passing second. She was already unable to use the compact containment foam sprayer she had built into her costume. Nothing I did would stop her from flying, but so long as she was blind and unable to use her arms, I didnt see her being too much of a threat.

She wasnt making headway on the offense, but retreating wouldnt change her circumstances. Id still bind her in silk, blind and choke her. Her costume had a flared collar, and my bugs were crawling inside, between skin and cloth. That attack was as much about the psychological effect as about getting to more skin to inflict bites.

I wasnt sure if it was just me, but her movements were bordering on the frantic, now.

No holding back. I only had so many wasps and hornets, but I did what I could. Mosquitoes were a good one. Welts. Leaving a mark.

Rachels dogs knocked over another one of the vans that had been circled around the PRT headquarters. The van was knocked into the side of the building, bending the bars that were supposed to protect the windows. Each window cracked, with the lines spiderwebbing out between the hexagonal sections, but they didnt break.

Adamant got into close quarters combat with the dog, slashing at it with pieces of his armor and driving the animal back.

Rachel whistled, shrill, and two dogs tackled him. He delivered one good swipe before the other blindsided him. The disadvantage of forming a full covering of armor was that it limited his peripheral vision.

She wasnt going even two seconds without giving a command. There were five dogs in the field, or four dogs and one young wolf, and many were lacking in serious training, so she managed them with lengths of chain between their collars and Bentleys, and by giving enough commands that they wouldnt have time to get creative and go after one of the PRT uniforms.

Sere was indoors, along with Triumph. Binding Sere had been a first priority, and Id achieved it in much the same way. Hed done what he could to target the bugs managing the threads, and to disentangle himself, but time spent on that was time he wasnt moving outdoors and shooting me or one of the dogs. As with Dovetail, Id managed to make enough progress that he was more or less out of the fight. She was blind, he was immobile.

The other heroes would be arriving soon. I double-checked Dovetail wasnt in a position to give pursuit, then ventured inside, entering through an open window on the uppermost floor.

I felt calm, which was odd, given the scene. Bugs swarmed every employee, from the official heroes to the kids who might have been interns. Some howled in pain, others screamed more out of fear, or yelped as bugs periodically bit them.

The bugs gave me a sense of the route I needed to take, my destination. There were offices in the back corner, but I had a sense of where I was going. Id been here before, when Piggot had been director.

I saw the labels on the door. Commissioner. Deputy Director. Director.

I opened the last door. Director Tagg.

He held a gun, but he didnt point it my way. There was a woman behind him, using him as a shield.

Id had statements ready, angry remarks, any number of things I could have said to him, to punctuate what my swarm was doing to his assembled employees. Statements, maybe, that could have surprised him, woken him up to what hed done to me.

Then I saw the steel in his eyes, the sheer confidence with which he stood in front of the woman they had matching wedding bands. His wife. I knew in an instant that there wouldnt be any satisfaction to be had that way.

Rather, the word that left my mouth was a quiet, Why?

His eyes studied me, as though he were making an assessment. His words were gruff, the gravelly burr of a long time smoker. He very deliberately set the gun down on the desk, then replied, Youre the enemy.

I paused, then pulled off my mask. I was sweating lightly, and my hair was damp around the hairline. The world was tinted slightly blue in a contrast to the coloring of my lenses. Its not that simple.

Has to be. The ones at the top handle the compromising. They assess where the boundaries need to be broken down, which threats are grave enough. My job is to get the criminals off the streets and out of the cities.

By starting fights in schools.

Didnt know it was a school until the capes were already landing, he replied. Had to choose, either we let you go, and you were keeping an eye out for trouble from then on, or we push the advantage.

Putting kids at risk?

Dragon and Defiant both assured me you wouldnt risk the students.

I sighed. Probably right.

Someone behind me screamed as a group of my hornets flew to him to deliver a series of bites across his face.

Barbaric, Director Tagg said.

Inflicting pain isnt the point.

Seem to be doing a good job of it, he commented.

There are heroes on their way back from patrol, your guys called them in. But theres also news teams on the way here. We called those guys in. Theyll find your employees covered in welts, every PRT van damaged or trashed. Your employees wont be able to get any cars out of the parking lot, so theyll have to walk, which will make for some photo opportunities. A handful of heroes will be a bit the worse for wear. You can try running damage control, but some of its bound to hit the news.

Uh huh, he said.

I couldnt let you get off without a response from us.

Didnt expect you to.

This was as mild as I could go, I said. I think you know that. Im not looking to one-up you or perpetuate a feud. Im doing what I have to, part of the game.

Game? Little girl, this is a war. His voice took on a hard edge.

I stopped to contemplate that. Rachel was destroying the last containment van, and Tattletale was saying something to her about incoming heroes. I was low on time.

If it is a war, my sides winning, I said.

And the worlds worse off for it. You cant win forever, he said.

I didnt have a response to that.

He must have sensed he had some leverage there. All of this goes someplace. Do you really see yourself making it five more years without being killed or put in prison?

I havent really thought about it.

I have. Bad publicity fades with time. So do welts and scabs. Five or ten years from now, provided the world makes it that long, nobody will remember anything except the fact that we fought back. Good publicity will overwrite the bad, carefully chosen words and some favors called in with people in the media will help whitewash any of our mistakes. Were an institution.

So you think you automatically win? Or youre guaranteed to win in the long run?

No. They didnt pick me to head this citys PRT division because Im a winner, Ms. Taylor. They picked me because Im a scrapper. Im a survivor. Im the type thats content to get the shit kicked out of me, so long as I give the other guy a bloody nose. Im a stubborn motherfucker, I wont be intimidated, and I wont give up. The last few Directors in Brockton Bay met a bad end, but Im here to stay.

You hope.

I know. You want to fight this system? Ill make sure it fights back.

So you want to escalate this? Despite what I said before?

Not my style. Im thinking more about pressure. I could pull your dad in for questioning every time you pull something, for example. Doesnt matter where, doesnt matter who its directed at. You or your team do anything that gets an iota of attention, I drag the man into the building, and grill him for a few hours at a time.

I felt a knot in my stomach. Thats harassment.

I was aware of Tattletale approaching me from behind. She leaned against the doorframe, arms folded.

Its a war of attrition, Tagg said. Ill find the cracks, Ill wear down and break each of you. If youre lucky, then five years from now theyll remember your names, speaking them in the same breath as they talk about the kid villains who were dumb enough to think they could keep a city for themselves.

Hes playing you, Tattletale murmured. He knows hes got you on a bad day. Best to just walk away. Remember, the Protectorate hasnt had a good day against us yet.

I thought about asking him about Dinah, but there wasnt a point. It was something he could use against me, and I already knew the answer.

I approached the desk and turned around the photo frames. The second showed Tagg with his wife and two young women. A family portrait.

You have daughters, I said.

Two, going to universities halfway across the world.

And you dont feel an iota of remorse for hurting a father through his daughter?

Not one, he replied, staring me in the eye. I look at you, and I dont see a kid, I dont see a misunderstood hero, a girl, a daughter or any of that. Youre a thug, Taylor Hebert.

A thug.

His mindset was all us versus them. Good guys versus the bad.

It wasnt much, but it served to confirm the conclusion Id already come to. Dinah had volunteered the information. Whatever else Director Tagg was, he wasnt the type to abuse a girl whod been through what Dinah had.

We should go, Tattletale said. Rachels downstairs with all her dogs, we can run before the reinforcements collapse in on us.

Yeah, I said. Nearly done. You, back there. Are you Mrs. Tagg?

The woman stepped a little to one side, out from behind her husband. I am.

Visiting him for the night?

Brought him and his men donuts and coffee. Theyve been working hard.

Okay, I said. And you stand by your husband? You buy this rhetoric?

She set her jaw. Yes. Absolutely.

I didnt waste an instant. Every spare bug I had flowed into the room, leaving Director Tagg untouched, while the bugs flowed over the woman en masse. She screamed.

He reached for his gun on the desk, and I pulled my hand back. The thread that Id tied between the trigger guard and my finger yanked the weapon to me. I stopped it from falling off the desk by putting my hand on top of the weapon.

Tagg was already reaching for a revolver at his ankle.

Stop, I said.

He did. Slowly, he straightened.

Im illustrating a point, I said.

My bugs drifted away from Mrs. Tagg. She was uninjured, without a welt or blemish. She backed into the corner as the bugs loomed between her and her husband.

Not sure why. Doesnt change my mind in the slightest, Tagg said.

I didnt respond. The swarm shifted locations and dogpiled him. Stubborn as he professed to be, he started screaming quickly enough.

I picked up the gun from the edge of the desk, joining Tattletale. We marched for the exit together, moving at a speed between a walk and a jog, passing by twenty or so PRT employees, each covered in bugs, roaring and squealing their pain and fear to the world as they stumbled blindly and thrashed in futile attempts to fight the bugs off.

Nothing venomous, the wasps and hornets werent contracting their bodies to squeeze the venom sacs. There was nothing that could put their lives at risk. It was still dramatic enough.

Hes right, Tattletale commented.

About?

You wont change his mind with a gesture like that. Sparing his wife.

Okay, I replied. I opened a drawer and put Director Taggs service weapon inside, while Atlas ferried Tattletale down to the ground floor.

Atlas returned to me, and I took to the air, flying just above Lisa and Rachel and the dogs as we fled the scene. I made a point of leaving every single bug inside the PRT headquarters, to infest it until they had the place exterminated, which would only be another photo opportunity for the media, or to serve as a perpetual reminder as it took weeks and months for all of the bugs to be cleared out.

The news teams were already arriving on the scene. No doubt there was a camera following us. I remembered Director Taggs threat, to bring my father into custody. Only a threat, going by his wording, but it did make me think about how every activity, every thing I did that brought me into the public consciousness, it would be a little twist of the knife that Id planted in my dads back.

Not a good feeling.

Maybe the little demonstration Id done with Taggs wife hadnt been for him. It could just as easily have been me trying to prove something to myself.