“First of all, don’t go trying to burn down any of my shit,” Lisa said bluntly.

  “What I do depends on your answer,” I said flatly, flicking the safety of my pistol on and off where it was hidden in my jacket pocket. Maybe it was a little crazy to bring it but...well I felt a lot less worried about Imp. “Because right now, I’m feeling like this was a set up. Pretty bad look for you, don’t you think? Giving me information and then having it turn out wrong.”

  “It wasn’t wrong you twit,” she snapped. “Unless you think I planted the stuff you found.”

  “So spin your story,” I said. “Because I’m still leaning towards slapping the Undersiders around a little.”

  “You’re so dramatic,” Lisa groaned, rolling her eyes. “Full disclosure: I knew they were moving stuff, that’s why we had to go fast. I’m sure you saw that when you did your recon.” I sighed, the pieces falling into place around why so many visitors. “I told you to pick one, you’re the one that decided to bring in heroes and blow up your relationship with them.”

  “Didn’t exactly blow up, but they think I’m an idiot.”

  “Damn, I guess they have working eyeballs.”

  “Fuck off,” I snapped. “So what, you gave me the old shit to make me look bad?”

  “I gave you a job your little team of newbies can handle,” she retorted. “And unless I’m mistaken, you only barely managed. Nadir recovering okay? Of course she is, your girlfriend was on call.” My cheeks burned as I stared out at the waves crashing on the beach. “Believe it or not, I don’t want to see your team dead.”

  “We’re tougher than you think,” I countered. “Managed to take out two gangs practically on our own.”

  “With a little help from yours truly.” I nodded, giving her that. “You’re still only three people, only two with powers, and only one with enough experience to handle these guys.”

  “You’re dead wrong,” I said, crossing my arms. “Nadir took down the guy that shot her before I even got back to help.”

  “Still took a bullet,” Lisa replied with a shrug. “You’re lucky she didn’t get killed.”

  “I’m working on it okay?” I muttered. “Not exactly easy to get body armour in this city.”

  “Sure it is, if you know who to ask,” she said smugly.

  “And let me guess who I need to ask,” I sighed, rolling my eyes. She laughed.

  “No, I’m not an arms dealer,” Lisa said lightly, eyes sparkling. “Unless I need some extra cash, and right now I don’t. No, I can point you to someone; not sure the heroes are going to look too kindly on it though.”

  “I care more about my friends not getting killed than I do about perception, Lisa,” I growled.

  “As you should,” she said with a nod. “One of your few admirable traits.”

  “Fuck y—”

  “Here,” she said, thrusting out a business card. ‘Salomon Industries LLC.’, ominously vague. “Grey market, mostly surplus gear, maybe a little more if you ask nicely.”

  “Mm,” I mused, pocketing the card. “I wish I felt like thanking you, but I’m still pissed about you yanking my chain.”

  “You’ll get over it,” she said flippantly. “At least I hope you will, because I think this little arrangement is working out.”

  “Yeah, like having a hero patsy to make you look legitimate?” I said bitterly.

  “Are you PMSing or something?” Lisa asked, giving me a look.

  “What? No I haven’t had my period in…” Wait, in how many months? I probably needed to talk to a doctor about that.

  “You should,” she agreed, getting a glare. “Now what’s up your ass this time?” I grit my teeth.

  “It’s…” I sighed. “Just didn’t like my last run-in with the heroes.”

  “Ah, after that car chase,” she said, nodding. “Had a crush on Miss Militia huh?”

  “Now you’re fucking with me,” I snapped, getting a shrug. “She...sort of, if you want to call it that. She always tried to like, understand me. Now that I’m not a Ward though, it’s like that was the only reason. That’s…” I chewed my lower lip.

  “Sucks,” Lisa offered. “Especially when you’re doing the right thing.”

  “Yeah, no kidding,” I said, scratching my neck. “It’s like...this was a problem that should have been solved years ago, I don’t know why they can’t see that.”

  “They were here before any of us,” she said simply. “Part of the landscape when parahumans appeared and became a piece of the status quo. You and I both know that’s all the Protectorate actually stands for.”

  “It’s fucked,” I said, shaking my head.

  “It is,” Lisa agreed. “So what are you going to do about it?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Protectorate’s against you,” she said, counting up on her fingers. “Nazis are against you, New Wave’s waffling, but people still need heroes. So, Lia D’souza, what are you going to do about it?”

  “I guess...keep being a hero,” I sighed. “Whatever the cost.”

  “That’s the spirit,” she said with a hint of sarcasm, patting my shoulder. “The cost is ten percent.”

  “Huh?”

  “Of loot, obviously,” Lisa said, rolling her eyes. “Just because this last one was a freebie doesn’t mean I’m just giving this stuff away.”

  “So you basically want us working together,” I said. “That’s not happening and you know it.”

  “Oh please, that’s cheap at twice the price,” she countered. “And as I’ve said many times before, I’ve got no interest in airing your dirty laundry.”

  “Currently.”

  “Currently,” she nodded, grinning. “Consider it fire insurance.”

  “You’re implying that I’ll take the offer,” I said.

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “Nah,” Lisa replied with a wink. “I just know you can’t and won’t refuse.” I frowned, staring out at the pounding surf.

  She was right, and I hated her for it.

  I sat on the couch, fiddling with my phone, the meeting with Tattletale playing on repeat in my head. I’d told Amy about it, and while she hadn’t been happy about us meeting she at least understood I needed answers; she hadn’t liked those either. But we hadn’t talked about the deal, mostly because I had no idea how to even think about it.

  If the last raid was anything to go by, things in the South End were more dangerous than I’d given them credit and more fluid. Without up to date info, my job was going to go from being difficult to a nightmare. I couldn’t let Nadir and Zeke get hurt on my watch, but that was exactly what running in blind would do.

  God, I’d kill for someone to bounce this off without the threat of being labeled a villain hanging over my head. Obviously the Protectorate was a no-go, same with New Wave. I’d told them about the why of our unsuccessful raid, something they’d at least let me off the hook for with a lecture on trusting Tattletale. They wouldn’t understand something like this.

  I scrolled through my short list of contacts, eyelids heavy. I wanted to take a nap, but I had stuff to do and think about, like why my thumb was hovering over Dean Stansfield’s number. Well...shit, it wasn’t the worst idea. I pressed the call button before I could think twice and pressed the phone to my ear.

  “Dean Stansfield,” he answered on the second ring.

  “Hey Dean, it’s Lia,” I said, clearing my throat.

  “Oh, how’s it going Lia? I didn’t expect to hear from you.” Well he didn’t sound unhappy.

  “Yeah, yeah, it’s going okay,” I replied. “How um, how’s Boston?”

  “Same old, same old,” he said, chuckling. “Cubicles don’t make for the most exciting scenery though.”

  “I bet,” I said. “Sorry to dump this on you but, um, could I talk to you about something...work related?” The brief pause made me wince. “Look you don’t have to, it’s fine, I really should figure it out for myself.”

  “It’s alright,” Dean said kindly. “I was just a little surprised you’re calling, that’s all. Mind waiting a second for me to move somewhere a little quieter?”

  “Sure,” I said, nodding. I heard him shuffling in the background as I licked my lips with a parched tongue. Please don’t call the PRT on me…

  “Okay, how can I help?” he asked after a minute. “I haven’t been following the news, you’ll have to catch me up.” I took a minute to explain the last few weeks of action, and the smug bitch propping it up. I held my breath after I finished, heart pounding in my chest. “You sure have a knack for getting yourself into impossible situations.”

  “Yeah I’m a regular fucking shit magnet,” I griped. There was a rush of static as he sighed.

  “I always thought you wanted to kill Tattletale, you know?” Dean said thoughtfully. “Kind of surprised to hear you’re even speaking to her.”

  “There are worse things in the world, even in the city,” I retorted.

  “Nazis?”

  “Nazis.”

  “Well, I can’t exactly argue that,” he said. “But do you really think working with villains is the right way to do this?”

  “No,” I scoffed. “But nobody else is offering. The Protectorate doesn’t want to help me do my job and New Wave thinks I’m an idiot now.”

  “They do?” he asked. “I talked to Mark just the other day and he seemed happy you were reaching out to them.”

  “Yeah, maybe before this crap,” I muttered. “But this deal...how can I turn it down? I know it’s not great, but if it’s going to make the city safer does it matter what label the people helping me wear?”

  “I would say so,” Dean replied. “Especially now you’re bringing unpowered people into it. You know what that looks like?”

  “I know, I know,” I sighed. “It’s just so stupid Dean. We worked with them before, right after they killed a PRT officer even.”

  “Those were exception circumstances, you know that.”

  “And why aren’t these?” I demanded. “Do you think it’s normal that Brockton Bay’s biggest gang is a Nazi one? Where the hell else is that the case?”

  “Germany,” he replied.

  “You know what I’m talking about,” I spat.

  “I understand what you’re saying,” Dean said slowly. “And it’s not like I disagree that whatever’s left of the Empire should be crushed just...we can’t lose sight of who we’re supposed to be.”

  “Yeah, heroes,” I said. “The ones who keep people safe from monsters like that, except when we’re tolerating them and letting them carve out a place. So why are the villains doing all the heavy lifting?”

  “Because they don’t play by the rules,” he said, like it was obvious. “They can go and do what they please, with no regard for the law. Sometimes that can be effective, that’s what you’re seeing I think, but remember that what they’re doing is illegal.”

  “If the laws are stopping us from helping people, why follow them?” I asked. “God, like, rules are supposed to be there to keep people safe right? If they’re not then we should scrap them.”

  “You know, I’ve had a similar conversation with Victoria,” Dean said. I blinked.

  “So what?”

  “So you’re not the only hero who feels like this, Lia,” he replied. “But you don’t see her out there breaking the law, do you?” I thought back to her letting me go after I firebombed a tattoo parlour.

  “I...guess,” I said after a moment. “But this would basically just be information sharing, it’s not really that bad is it?”

  “And the payment in loot?”

  “It’s…” I grimaced. “I mean, if it’s just seized by the cops there’s no loot, right?”

  “Don’t play games with this stuff,” he warned. “Tattletale is dangerous.”

  “So am I,” I snapped. There was a pause long enough that I checked he hadn’t hung up on me.

  “Do you want help?” Dean asked out of nowhere.

  “What?”

  “Do you want help?” he repeated himself. “I’ve been wanting to visit Brockton Bay anyway, maybe...maybe I could go out with you guys for a night? Not as your captain, just...a coach.” I pursed my lips.

  “I’ll have to talk to my team,” I hedged.

  “Absolutely,” he agreed. “You let me know, okay?”

  “Sure.” Despite myself, I found a smile touching my lips. “Thanks Dean.”

  “No problem Lia, take care of yourself.”

  “You too.”

  The line clicked and I stared at my phone screen, then dropped it on the couch and retrieved my work phone. No time to waste.

  “Man I don’t know about this,” Zeke said, fiddling with his paper coffee cup. He looked around the empty clearing. “Like...I know you and Joy are cool, but this guy?”

  “He does kind of sound like a boy scout,” Joy added. “I think we’ve been doing okay.”

  “You think we’ve been doing okay?” I said incredulously, making her cheeks darken.

  “I mean…I’m okay right?” she said.

  “I’m not even entertaining that,” I said. “Look I’m not exactly keen on this either but…” I sighed, probably should tell them the whole story. “Okay, look, I’ve got something to tell you guys. If you’re mad...I get it, it’s fair, I should have told you before. I just, I didn’t know how you’d react and—”

  “Lia I already know about your mom,” Joy cut me off.

  “What about her mom?” Zeke asked.

  “Nazi bitch,” she said.

  “Shiiit, that sucks girl, good to see it’s not genetic.”

  “Not. That,” I growled through gritted teeth. I took a few deep breaths and shut my eyes. “The info we got to take down the gangs, and hit Werwolf last night, came from Tattletale.” I held my breath and opened my eyes, glancing between their blank expressions.

  “Who?” Zeke said.

  “Wait, is that the villain bitch you complain about being a pain in your ass?” Joy asked, cocking her head.

  “Yeah, leader of the Undersiders,” I said, nodding. “I bought some, and she gave me the rest.”

  “Okay,” Joy said.

  “How much you pay?” Zeke said.

  “I...twenty grand,” I said, blinking.

  “Not too bad, considering how much we found,” Joy said, scratching her chin.

  “You’re...not mad?” They shared a look.

  “Why would I be?” Zeke said.

  “Lia it’s giving me a chance to beat the shit out of Nazis,” Joy added dryly. “I wouldn’t care if you said you bought it from the mob if it means we can keep doing this.”

  “I...huh.” I wavered back and forth, stunned. “Okay, um, thanks I guess.”

  “Thanks for spending twenty kay to give me a paycheque,” Joy said, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

  “Um, anyway, the coach,” I said, trying to shake it off. “He’s a good guy, used to be my captain. He said he didn’t want to do that for us, and I’m going to hold him to that. But...I think we should try it. We coordinated decently with New Wave, but I think they’re not happy about how our last night went. This might up our credibility a bit, you know?”

  “If you say so,” Zeke said, shrugging. “Figured, you know, busting up some gangs would do that.”

  “Yeah, seriously, what the hell?” Joy said.

  “Look, this is just how shit is,” I said firmly. “I don’t like it either, but it means we’ll get to keep going out and doing this alright?”

  “This is stupid,” she complained.

  “Yeah hey preaching to the priest,” I muttered. “Like I said, he’s not going to boss you around, that’s my job and I take it seriously.”

  “As long as he don’t whine too much I guess it’s fine,” Zeke said after a moment.

  “Yeah, if he starts messing with us he can screw off,” Joy said.

  “He won’t, I’ll make sure of it.”