Simon squeezed Adrian’s shoulder, and he knew it was meant to be fatherly and comforting, but something about it made him feel worse. Not only about Danna, but also because he had already decided he couldn’t tell them that he was the Sentinel. Not yet.
Hugh turned away, facing the crowd. “Listen up,” he said, in that deep, heroic voice that could have made an earthworm stand at attention. “If anyone knows anything about this prodigy who calls himself the Sentinel, bring that information to the Council. As far as we know, he isn’t one of us…” He paused, his steely-blue eyes cutting across the room, just in case anyone wanted to step forward and confess right then that, by golly, it was me all along! Avoiding his father’s gaze, Adrian glanced up at Max, who was watching them from the quarantine.
Hugh continued. “But he is using our symbol and our name. I want to know his motives. If he’s an enemy, I want to know who he’s working with. If he’s an ally … I want to know why he’s not working with us.”
He turned to Adrian and flashed his signature Captain Chromium smile, the one that, even after all these years, still made Adrian feel like he was looking at a picture on a cereal box. “Who knows? Maybe he’ll be at the trials.”
“Mr. Everhart, Mr. Westwood.” A woman in a white lab coat and sneakers made her way across the lobby, carrying a clipboard. “May I have a moment? We’ve finished our preliminary tests on the chemical solution that was inside that projectile dart.”
Hugh and Simon joined her and started heading back in the direction she’d come from. Adrian followed, pretending he’d been invited, as the rest of the crowd dispersed.
“We don’t have a run yet on the physical casing of the projectile,” said the woman, flipping a page on her clipboard. “But the solution was nearly identical to poisons that have been traced to Cyanide in the past.”
“Cyanide,” said Hugh. “Leroy Flinn?”
The woman nodded.
“An Anarchist,” said Adrian.
They paused and turned back, and all three seemed surprised that he was still there.
Sighing, Hugh turned back to the technician. “Nothing on the gun yet?”
She started to shake her head, but hesitated. “This isn’t confirmed, but it carried manufacturing marks similar to some we’ve apprehended from nonaffiliated criminals. Black market, if I had to guess.”
“Could be a new dealer in the city,” said Hugh, stroking his chin.
“Or an old dealer,” added Simon, “getting back into the business.”
“Who cares where the gun came from?” said Adrian. “Cyanide made the poison and we know he’s an Anarchist. Between him and the Puppeteer, that’s got to be who Nightmare is working for. Or … with.”
Simon shoved the edges of his cape back from his shoulders. “The Anarchists have been inactive for nine years. More likely the girl’s just some prodigy miscreant trying to make a name for herself on the streets.”
“You don’t know that,” said Adrian. “And what does it matter? They attacked us today—the Puppeteer and Nightmare both. That has to be enough cause to go after the Anarchists, even under the code authority.”
“It isn’t enough to confirm that Nightmare really is one of them.” Hugh smiled then, and there was something so warm and kind about it that Adrian bristled, like his dad was trying to comfort him after a rough day at softball practice. “But maybe you’re right. We’ll send someone to investigate the Anarchists. Ask a few questions, see what they can find out.”
Adrian’s left eyelid began to twitch. “Why not send me? Us? Oscar and Ruby were on the ground today—they know more about Nightmare than anyone at this point. Let my team go.”
“Your team is excellent at patrol work,” said Simon, “but you’re not investigators. We’ll find someone with more experience to handle it.”
Adrian massaged his brow. “I don’t think … I just wonder if another team is going to take this as seriously as they should. Nightmare showed herself to be a real threat today, and if the Anarchists were involved, then we have to stop thinking of them as harmless tunnel rats. Even without Ace, they’re still villains. We can’t be sure what they’re capable of.”
Hugh laughed. “You forget who you’re talking to, Sketch,” he said, using Adrian’s Renegade name, and Adrian couldn’t tell if it was endearing or insulting. “Let the Anarchists try to reclaim power of the city. They would never stand a chance—with or without this Nightmare. We are still superheroes, you know.”