that you mention it, it could make sense. His power is detecting other people’s superpowers, which would definitely help him build up a crew of anti-heroes….”
“Yes!” Teddy agrees. “I was going to say that! Also, he does not have alibis during the heroes’ kidnappings. I cannot find a time stamp for him on any HQ security cameras, and no one I’ve spoken to can definitively place his whereabouts during our estimated times of abduction.”
Okay, well, that is suspicious.
“He’s been driving me crazy since the day I started here,” Teddy continues, shaking his head as he flips through his notepad. “All smiles and no work ethic. While some of us bust our butts to make this chapter the greatest one in the entire organization!”
“What does Millie say about your theory?” I ask.
“Oh…Millie?” He grimaces. “I haven’t told her yet.”
“Why not?”
“You have to understand—Millie is very busy. She has a lot of pressure on her right now. I don’t want to bring this to her attention until I’m absolutely sure.”
“But you seem pretty sure about this,” Claire says. “You brought us to this little bunker of yours to drop your big discovery.”
Teddy glowers at her. “I AM sure, but I want to have undeniable proof before I go accusing the chapter president of villainy. Something neither of you had when you pointed a finger at me.” Claire starts to spit something back, but I hold her off, resting my cast on her shoulder. He continues. “Everyone has been undergoing polygraph tests, per Millie’s decree. I’ve been trying to access his session, but so far the reports haven’t been uploaded into our system.”
“Dang, how high is your security clearance?” Claire asks, jealous.
“The highest.” He grins. He spins around to the ancient desktop computer on his table, quickly typing a password into the keyboard that opens up a Warrior Nation screen I recognize from peeking over Matt’s shoulder from time to time. When Matt first joined Warrior Nation, he was locked to his laptop for weeks, ready to learn anything and everything about the hero life. I’d sometimes look up from my sketchbook and see him reading Warrior lore. He’d get all nerdy about it, gushing about all the great men and women who’d come before him, and how he wanted to make a difference too. I remember the look on his face, how he’d glow with excitement like a little kid on Christmas morning. When he first discovered he could disappear, it scared him, made him feel like he’d never make his mark on this world. But becoming a hero changed that forever.
My heart pangs at the thought; I hope I can make a difference for him now.
Dozens of icons fill the desktop, labeled “Training,” “Rescue Protocols,” “Advanced Weaponry,” and so on. Claire marvels at the rows and rows of folders that would likely make any WarNat’s head explode, tentatively reaching out, fingers itching to dive in.
Teddy smirks with superiority, reveling in Claire’s jealousy. “Yes, it’s all right—” Suddenly he looks off, his Bluetooth device chirping in his ear. “Right away,” he answers his caller, tapping the earpiece to end his call. “I have to go.”
“What? No! Let’s get into these files!” Claire pleads.
“I have to keep up appearances—some of us can’t just disappear.” He groans, and I don’t know if that’s a dig at Matt, or Claire, or what. He leans over his desk and quickly logs out, much to Claire’s dismay. “I’ll check back with you two later. Try not to do anything stupid while I’m gone.”
Once the door’s closed behind him, Claire turns to me. “God, for someone who clearly wants us on his side, he has a weird way of showing it.”
“He needs to go outside sometimes. Sunshine might help jump-start his personality.”
She snickers. “Okay, but what do we do now? Do you think Roy could be Siege?”
“I’m really not sure,” I admit, feeling pulled in too many directions. Solving a Warrior Nation crisis has never been on my bucket list, and yet here I am, caught in a web of confusing clues and red herrings. Besides Claire, it’s impossible to know who to trust as the organization slowly collapses in on itself, but I don’t want the whole ship to sink before I discover what’s really going on.
The purple paper makes it whole. Matt. He will have to be the voice of reason here; whatever he left behind will have to be our guiding light to the truth.
“C’mon, let’s go to the mural,” I say. “We’ll finish what