pretty sure I know how to make deductions that prove to be correct.”
Dad smiled tiredly at him. “You are, aren’t you? Okay, I’ll play along. Let’s say I was at a certain event. What do you want?”
“Five questions, and you have to answer every one truthfully.”
“Three questions, and I’ll decide which ones get an answer.”
“Four questions, and if there’s one you can’t answer because of an open investigation, you can hint around it enough so I can figure it out on my own.”
“No questions, and you leave for school now to ensure we don’t have a repeat of yesterday.”
Nick glared at him. “Are we really doing this again?”
“Funny, I was just thinking the same thing.”
So. Aggravating. “Not funny.”
Dad shrugged. “I’m your father. Trust me when I say I’ve got a sense of humor.”
Nick threw his hands up. “Fine. Since apparently we live in Communist China, we’ll do it your way.”
“World Studies going well, then?”
Nick nodded. “I’m learning a lot. First test next week. All right, old man. You ready for this?”
“Hit me, kid.”
Nick leaned forward eagerly. “Did you see him?”
Dad sipped his coffee before answering. He really was the worst. “I did.”
“Did you talk to him?”
“I didn’t. Last question.”
Nick couldn’t believe it was almost over already. “I’d like to renegotiate the terms of our agreement, if I may.”
“You may not.”
Such a hard-ass. “Okay, let me think.”
“You’ve got thirty seconds.”
Nick gaped at him. “But—you know I can’t—why are you like this?”
“To make your life miserable. Twenty seconds.”
“Okay, wait. Just wait. Let me—”
“Ten seconds.”
“Time does not move that fast, you liar—”
“Three. Two. One.”
“Why do you think they were fighting like that?” Nick blurted.
Dad blinked like he hadn’t been expecting that question. “What?”
“It doesn’t make sense,” Nick said. “They’ve always been … not like that. It was like something happened, and they were taking it to another level. Sure, they’ve fought before, but they’ve never been in an all-out brawl like that. Why were they going after each other with such hatred?”
Dad rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Your guess is as good as mine. I don’t know what goes on in the mind of an Extraordinary. On one hand, you’ve got your boyfriend doing what he can to—”
“He’s not my boyfriend, oh my god, how can you say that—”
“—even if he can be a pain in the ass, and on the other hand, you’ve got that fire guy who just seems to like causing chaos for the hell of it. But the shadow fella and the fire guy have always been … what? Enemies?”
“Shadow fella and fire guy,” Nick repeated. “It’s like you’re deliberately trying to hurt me. Really. Stab me in the heart, why don’t you. It’d be easier.”
“You know more about this kind of thing than I do,” Dad said. “Don’t you stalk—I mean, don’t you follow everything they do? Obsessively? To the point I should probably be more concerned than I am?”
“A little,” Nick admitted. “I’ve got a handle on it. I’ll let you know if it gets to the point that might necessitate serving me a restraining order.”
“I’m glad you know yourself that well.”
“But, like I was saying, it has never been that bad before, right? I mean, Pyro Storm doesn’t really try to hurt people like that. Mostly. Yeah, there was that one time when he accidentally lit that guy’s hair on fire when he tried to take a picture with him, but Pyro Storm put it out quickly. And the guy was in denial about his comb-over, so actually, Pyro Storm was probably doing him a favor. Live bald and proud, man.”
“Maybe something happened that changed things,” Dad said quietly. “It doesn’t take much to tip people over the edge. You lose something, Nicky, and you find yourself doing things you didn’t think you were capable of.”
Nick swallowed thickly. He knew what Dad was implying. He’d always been about protecting and serving, but then one of his witnesses had said the wrong thing at the wrong time and had gotten a broken nose because of it. “But that doesn’t mean you still can’t be a good person, right? Just because you did something wrong doesn’t mean that’s who you are. And even if you keep doing the wrong thing, you can still be saved. Maybe they just need someone to listen to them, to hear the storm in their heads.”
Dad stared at him. Nick tried not to squirm. Then, “You know, if you didn’t have this … thing for Shadow Star, I would almost think that you could