The coughing fit finally stopped and Adrian rolled onto his back, gazing up at the bottom of the bridge. He heard a heavy vehicle crossing overhead. The steel structure trembled from its weight.
The world had just fallen quiet again when he heard a chime on his communicator band. He grimaced.
For the first time, he began to think that his decision to transform into the Sentinel might not have been the best idea. If he’d caught Hawthorn and retrieved the stolen medication, he’d probably feel differently, but as it was, he had nothing to show for his risk.
His team would be wondering where he was. He would have to explain why he was soaking wet.
Sitting up, he reached for the pocket sewn into the lining of his Renegade uniform, but there was nothing inside.
No marker. No chalk.
Adrian cursed. They must have fallen out in the water.
So much for drawing himself some dry clothing.
The wristband pinged again. He rubbed the water droplets off the screen with his damp sleeve, then pulled up the messages. There were seven of them. Three from Ruby, one from Oscar, one from Danna, two from his dads.
Great. They’d gotten the Council involved.
No sooner had he thought it than he heard a roar of water. His eyes widened and Adrian scrambled to his feet—too late. A wall of foaming river water crashed down, drenching him all over again. He barely maintained his balance as the surging wave rolled back out into the riverbed. Spluttering and pulling scraps of snakeweed from his uniform, he watched as a second wall of water built up on the other side of the river, rising impossibly up over the far shore. A wave, thirty feet tall, with all the scattered boats perched deftly on its crest. The floor of the river could be seen, all slimy plant life and built-up trash. The wave hung, motionless for a moment, before sinking back down and surging toward the bay.
Tsunami, Adrian guessed, or one of the other water elementals on the force, combing the bottom of the river.
Searching for him, he realized.
Nova must have seen the Sentinel being dropped into the water, and now they were searching for the body.
Turning, he stumbled for the small cliffside. He grasped at weeds and rocks and exposed tree roots as he scrambled up the bank. By the time he reached the top, he was not only soaking wet but muddy too.
There were signs of recent life in the shelter of the bridge—a tarp, a couple of blankets, an abandoned shopping cart—but no one was there now to witness Adrian as he dashed around the abutment and up to street level. Below him, the river roared again as another unnatural wave began to rise up from the depths.
He was preparing to climb over the guardrail when he heard a familiar, booming voice coming from the bridge.
Heart leaping, Adrian ducked down.
“—keep looking,” said the Dread Warden, one of Adrian’s dads and a member of the Renegade Council. “Magpie will be here soon. She might be able to detect the suit, even if it’s buried beneath the silt.”
Adrian exhaled. He hadn’t been noticed.
“I’ll see if I can find anything from the next bridge too,” said Tsunami. “It seems unlikely he would have gone much farther than this, but it won’t hurt to look.”
Adrian lifted his head and peered over the guardrail. He could see Tsunami and his dad standing on the deck of Halfpenny Bridge, the wind fluttering through Tsunami’s royal blue skirt and snapping at the Dread Warden’s black cape. They were both watching the river.
Tsunami flicked a finger, and he heard the crash of water below.
They started to make their way in his direction. Crouching, Adrian scurried back beneath the bridge.
“Sketch?”
Gasping, he spun around. Nova stood on the other side of the street, peering at him like he was an unknown amphibious species she was preparing to dissect.
“Nova,” he stammered, hurrying back up the hill and stepping over the guardrail. “Er—Insomnia. Hi.”
Her frown deepened. She had changed out of her uniform into drawstring pants and a healer-issued tank top. Adrian could see the edges of bandages wrapping around her right shoulder.
“Where have you been? Ruby’s worried sick,” she said, strolling across the street. Her eyes scoured his uniform. “Why are you all wet?”
“Adrian?”
He cringed and faced the two Council members as they reached the end of the bridge. They appeared as surprised to see him as Nova had, though more curious than suspicious.
So far.
“Hey, everyone,” he said. He forced a smile, but then wiped it away, urging himself to stop aiming for nonchalant. Nothing about this was nonchalant. He licked his lips, which still tasted like sludgy river water, and gestured toward the bridge. “Find anything?”
“Great skies, Adrian,” said the Dread Warden. “Oscar alerted us about your disappearance more than half an hour ago. One minute you’re telling your team that you’re going after a prodigy criminal, and then—nothing! We didn’t know if Hawthorn had attacked you, or … or…” He paused, his expression wavering between worried and angry. “What were you doing all this time? Why aren’t you responding to your messages?”
“Um. I was”—Adrian glanced at the river, sunlight glinting off its surface—“searching for the Sentinel.” He ran a hand over his hair. “I was on one of the side streets when I saw Hawthorn throw him in the water. So I went down to the shore and have been waiting to see if he would surface.” He didn’t have to fake his chagrin. “I wasn’t expecting you to start combing the water so soon, hence…” He gestured at his uniform, which was still clinging uncomfortable and cold to his skin. “And, uh … messages?” He tapped at his wristband. “Oh, wow, seven missed messages? That’s weird. I didn’t hear them come through. But you know, my band has been acting up lately. I’ll have to get the folks in tech to check into that.” He dared to peek at Nova. Her eyes were still narrowed in suspicion.
“Yeah,” she said slowly. “You should look into that.” Her expression cleared as she turned to the Council members. “The cleanup crew is here, along with Magpie.” Her tone carried a definite sourness when she mentioned Maggie’s alias. Though Adrian had a lot of sympathy for the kid, he knew Nova had never quite forgiven her for trying to steal her bracelet. He glanced at her wrist, searching for the clasp he’d once redrawn on her skin, but it was hidden beneath the sleeve of her uniform. “She wasn’t sure where you wanted her to get started.”
“I’ll talk to her,” said Tsunami. “Should I have Smokescreen brief the cleanup crew, or”—she inspected Adrian—“is the team leader prepared to do that?”
Grateful for the opportunity to move on from this conversation, Adrian was about to say that he would love nothing more than to point out all the locations in this neighborhood where windows had been broken, walls had been destroyed, and bullets had been fired, but the Dread Warden responded first. “Have them talk to Smokescreen. Adrian needs to head to the medical tent and be checked for injuries.”
“And let the others know you’re okay,” said Nova, “before Ruby assembles her own search party.”
They followed Nova into a connecting side street, and Adrian spotted two ambulances emblazoned with the Renegade R and a handful of transport vehicles. The media was arriving, too, but they were being held back behind a banner of yellow security tape.