“And a hip accessory,” added Oscar. He rolled back the sleeve of his uniform, revealing a similar strip of glass wound around his wrist. “High-end designers are already trying to copy it. They’ll be all the rage this time next year.”
“Fashion aside, R and D is very proud of these. Here.” Adrian took Nova’s left forearm, but hesitated when he saw the delicate bracelet. He took the other arm instead. Taking the device back from her, he started to bend it, curving it until it fit snugly around her wrist, an elegant spiral against her skin. It was so light she could barely feel it—or perhaps she was simply too in tune with the warmth coming off Adrian’s fingers to pay much attention to the communicator.
“This part will light up and sound an alarm when there’s an emergency,” he said, pointing to one end of the device. “If the call center has already designated a location for us to report to, a city map will show up along the middle here, indicating where to go. Down here,” he tapped the other end of the strip, resting near Nova’s thumb, “is how you communicate with one of us. Just press your finger here and say the name of the person you want to contact.”
“Or you can hold it up in front of your face,” said Oscar, mimicking the action, “and it will automatically start to record a video message. Very nifty.”
Nova turned her wrist from side to side, feeling the start of a grin. New tech, a new gadget. Finally, they were speaking her language.
But then a thought occurred to her that smothered that first twinge of excitement. Technology like that had to include a tracking device. Which meant, so long as she wore it, the Renegades would know just where to find her.
She had no idea whether or not they would bother to use it that way, but regardless, it made her feel like they’d just wrapped a venomous snake around her wrist.
“Thanks,” she said, trying to look appreciative. “It still hardly feels real. You know … being a Renegade.” She made mild jazz hands beside her face.
“You get used to it,” said Adrian, with an understanding smile.
“Do you?” chirped Ruby, beaming. “I haven’t yet. It’s still pretty much the most awesome thing ever.”
“Try to keep the communicator on you at all times,” said Adrian. “You probably already have a message on there with our instructions for tomorrow night.”
“Tomorrow night?”
“Our first assignment.” Adrian’s expression brightened. “We’re running surveillance on Cloven Cross Library.”
Nova stilled.
“It’s run by a guy named Gene Cronin,” he continued. “He used to be a member of a villain gang called the Vandal Cartel, and we have reason to believe he might still be dealing in illegal weaponry, including, perhaps, the gun that Nightmare used to try to assassinate Captain Chromium at the parade.”
Nova stared at him, her body tense as she waited for Adrian’s composed act to drop away, for him, to say that he knew her secret identity after all and this had all been a ruse to trap her here inside their headquarters.
Instead, he gestured at the elevator bank. “We’ll take you back up to the lounge so you can get your things. You have the rest of the day off to rest. Or … whatever it is you do.” His lips quirked, but Nova hadn’t been ready for a joke and any humor was lost among her scattered thoughts. “Anyway,” said Adrian, his smile fading. “We’ll meet you outside the library, tomorrow night at eleven. You can wear street clothes. We’ll probably want to stay incognito.”
“Wait,” said Nova, following him blindly into the elevator. “That’s it? Surveillance? We’re not … I don’t know, tracking down a mass murderer or something?”
“Huge letdown, right?” said Oscar.
Adrian shot him an ireful look. “We like to ease recruits into the mass murderer hunts. But this mission is really important. If we can find evidence that Cronin is still trading on the black market, it could open a lot of doors into criminal rings throughout the city. Crime rates have been going up for the last four years, and if Cronin is out there supplying criminals with weapons, stopping him could be a huge victory for us.”
Nova tried to listen, nodding when it seemed appropriate, though her mind was spinning. She knew full well that Gene Cronin, who she knew mostly as the Librarian, was very much selling on the black market and had very much supplied the gun that she’d tried to use against the Council.
“But before we can do anything else,” Adrian continued, ignorant to how this conversation had unnerved her, striking far too close to her own secrets, “the Council requires evidence that Cronin is breaking the law. They won’t allow a raid or even a permit to search the library until we have something concrete.”
“Seriously?” said Nova, unable to keep the disbelief from her tone. “The Council won’t allow an unsanctioned raid?”
They’d allowed plenty on the subway tunnels.…
Adrian’s face turned mildly annoyed, though she could tell it wasn’t at her. “The Council is really strict when it comes to following the new codes. You know, back during the Age of Anarchy, they would do anything they had to do to try to clean up all the violence and theft that was going on. But now they’re trying to reestablish a justice system, like we used to have. I think they’re afraid that if we start bending the rules, other people will get the impression that it’s okay for them to do it too.”
“You mean people don’t like to see hypocrisy in their leadership? Shocking.”
“I know,” said Adrian, casting his eyes toward the ceiling, his quick smile making a return. “Their reasons make sense. But it does mean our hands are tied in situations like this. But who knows? Maybe we’ll find something tonight that will provide enough evidence to really start investigating Cronin.”
“During our surveillance,” clarified Nova. “On a public library.”
“Right.” Adrian nodded. The elevator doors opened and he led her back to the bank of lockers where she’d stashed her clothes. “Lucky for us, we have the Renegade who doesn’t need to sleep.”