SuperNova: Heroes of Arcania (21 page)

“I gotta get home.”
 

“I’ll walk you,” Cole offered.
 

Penelope declined to join, fake yawning and heading upstairs. Cole went to pick up the duffel bags, grimacing at the weight. “Huh. I didn’t know money could be so heavy.”
 

I bit back a laugh, walking over and lifting it onto either shoulder. “I got it.”
 

Cole laughed too, not looking the least bit embarrassed. “Penelope does a lot of the heavy lifting, too.”
 

“Her gift is really amazing,” I said as we exited the house.
 

Cole grimaced, ushering me out. The backdoor shut behind him with a click. Once we got out of his yard, he spoke again. “That’s not who she is, that person who knocks men unconscious with her gift.”
 

I stayed silent on the matter. Obviously he was talking himself into that, but I wouldn’t be the one to tell him. It sure looked like she’d enjoyed it and that was enough to tell me what she was capable of. I shifted the bag straps on my shoulders.
 

“Are you okay?” Cole asked, glancing over at me.
 

I nodded. “Yeah. I mean…I don’t know.”
 

Cole shot me a knowing look and summed it all up for me. “Fortune wasn’t there.”
 

My breath blew out at once. “Yes! I wanted him there so I could take him down. I want it to be over.”
 

“But you’ve only just started.”
 

I started, glancing at him in surprise. “I don’t know if this hobby is really a marketable skill, Cole. I can’t exactly put it on college applications.”
 

“‘Vigilante’ won’t add a bit of flair to your resume?” he teased.
 

“I don’t want to be a vigilante,” I said honestly. We slipped into the neighbor’s backyard, sticking to the shadows to avoid being seen. “I want to rid the world of Fortune. That’s my one goal, end of list.”
 

“I get it,” Cole said with a shrug, “but what if it turns out you really love saving people?”
 

I paused, thinking back to helping the prostitute against her pimp. She’d been grateful; I’d seen it in her scared eyes. Who else would save them if not me?
 

“What?” Cole said.
 

I blinked in surprise. Had I said that out loud?
Get it together, Nova.
 

“Nothing,” I said. We were a house away from my own. “Thanks for an interesting night.”
 

“You were great back there, you know. The way you took that one guy down the moment he slipped me.”
 

I brightened. “Thanks. Oh, and thanks for taking down that one guy trying to kick my lights out.”
 

Cole showed me his right hand. The knuckles were bruised and bloody. “This is gonna hurt like hell tomorrow.”
 

We came to a stop by my basement door. Standing under the outdoor light, I looked up at him. “I hope it was worth it. The pain, I mean.”
 

He grinned, brown eyes pinning me in my spot. “Definitely.”
 

“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?” I wanted to sink into a hole - of course I’d see him tomorrow, in class.
Act cool for once, Nova.
 

Cole nodded, echoing my last words. “Yeah, see you tomorrow.”
 

We stood there for a long moment, neither of us moving. I almost wished I was a Telepath right now to know what he was thinking. Cole opened his mouth, pausing. I waited for him to say something, ask me out, anything, when he just half-smiled at me again and turned around to walk away. I stared at his retreating back in confusion. I hadn’t exactly expected him to kiss me, but the moment had definitely been right to ask me out on a date, right? I slipped through my door, dropping the bags to the floor in frustration.
 

“I guess he doesn’t feel that way about me,” I said into the darkness.
 

“Who?” a voice said from the top of the stairs.
 

I jerked in surprise, my hand coming over my pounding heart. “Geez, Dad, I thought you were asleep!”
 

“I don’t sleep until you’re home,” he said matter of factly, still perching in the doorway. “Who doesn’t feel what way about you?”
 

“No one,” I said quickly, changing the subject. “But I have something you need to see.”
 

He didn’t hesitate, shutting the basement door behind him. The scent of his decaf coffee floated down the stairs with him. “Let’s not wake your mother.”
 

“That’d be wise.”
 

I kicked off my shoes. Grabbing them, I also took my mask and stashed them in my room. Uncoiling my bun, I glanced at my mirror and saw blood on my sleeve. I grimaced, not wanting to know whose blood it was and changed into a different shirt. When I came back out to the main room, I found Dad kneeling by the unzipped duffel bags. His astonished face said it all.
 

“What—Nova, how?” he babbled, gesturing to the money.
 

I motioned to it. “You know what that is?”
 

Dad nodded, sucking in a deep breath. “It’s money from at least one of Fortune’s heists. There’s nothing else it could possibly be.”
 

“Winner, winner,” I said, giving him a thumbs up. I caught myself on the verge of saying
we
and hesitated, correcting myself. “I caught a few guys loading this onto a truck. Lots more where that came from, too. I’d say at least ten to twenty bags just like it.”
 

He darkened. “What does Fortune want with all that money?”
 

I shrugged. “Could be he’s just moving it from one place to another. I didn’t stop to ask.”
 

As though just realizing what I meant, he got to his feet. “Are you hurt?”
 

“Of course not.” I didn’t hold back the grin.
 

He didn’t smile back and my face fell. Dad took a few steps around the bags, staring down.
 

“Dad, you have marked bills in all the banks, right?”
 

He jumped at my question. “How do you know that?”
 

“Er, I might’ve heard you telling Mom.”
 

He spared me an annoyed look. “For the sake of conversation, yes, the police planted their own coded money in certain banks.”
 

“So if Fortune spends the money or gives it to someone who spends it, you can track him down?”
 

“That’s the idea.”
 

“Do you think he knows that?”
 

Dad paused, mouth twisting in thought. “He’s managed to evade us this far, so it’s not a stretch to consider he’s aware of the consequences of spending it.”
 

He looked down to the duffel bags, staring at them. After a moment, he removed his glasses, cleaning them with the bottom of his nightshirt. When he still didn’t say anything, I made a show of yawning.
 

“If you don’t need anything else—”

“What am I supposed to do with this, Nova?” he demanded to know. “What am I supposed to tell the police?”
 

“That a good samaritan dropped it off or something. They can trace the numbers and go from there, right?”
 

“They’re going to want to know where this came from.”
 

“An anonymous guardian angel?” I offered. I sighed at the look on his face. “Dad, I took it because I thought it might help.”
 

His frustration dropped as he looked back up at me. “I know you meant well. I’m sorry, I guess I’m a little shocked, is all.”
 

“I certainly don’t want it and it’s better for everyone if it’s not out on the street. Should I return it to the bank or something?”
 

“No, no, I’ll take it into the office tomorrow. We’ll go with good samaritan. It’s going to raise more than a few eyebrows.”

“Will you be okay?”
 

He eyed me, replying in a mocking tone. “‘Will I be okay?’ I’m offended you even asked such a question.”
 

I laughed. “I already knew the answer, Counselor. Can I go to bed now?”
 

“Yeah, of course. Goodnight, honey,” he said.
 

He gave me a half-armed hug, his attention now back on the duffel bags. I knew he’d be up all night figuring out a way to make it worth something in the case against Fortune. I left him alone with his thoughts, choosing to shut mine out and go to sleep instead.
 

Nova and I got to spend the next few weeks together thanks to our new hobby. On the nights we didn’t go out, we trained in my garage. Nova tested her strength with weights; Penelope lifted weights with her mind, and was currently annoyed Nova could lift more than she could; I practiced fighting tutorials and timed how long I could hold the girls in a time freeze. It was fun using our gifts and even better getting to know Nova better.
 

But mostly, we had fun going downtown for trouble. Some nights we’d find no one, but on a handful of occasions, we were able to save more prostitutes or prevent another store burglary. I would go in and freeze everyone while Penelope kept the perps at bay (sometimes throwing them into the chip aisle). Nova called the cops and rushed everyone out to safety. We even managed to thwart a few guys in some gang called O’Malley’s Hounds. We stopped them on a drug run, though the cops didn’t get there in time to catch anyone.
 

Each time we’d search for Fortune, but he didn’t bother with the petty crime stuff. Said enough about the guy. In all our rescues so far, we’d done our best to interrogate the attackers. One guy, when Nova asked about his seniority, laughed so hard and so long that she finally knocked him out cold on sheer principle. The others were either frozen, too dangerous to move, or unconscious due to Pen’s velocity. On our fifth or sixth back alley mugger, we finally got lucky.
 

Our victim ran away the moment we arrived, shrieking for help on her cell phone. I hoped she called the cops; Nova and I had a bet on how long it took for them to arrive. I had twenty bucks on nine minutes or less, while her cynicism had it at ten or more. (We’d decided to break even at nine minutes.)
 

“I don’t work for Fortune,” the guy said, putting out blood onto the pavement.
 

“One of O’Malley’s mutts?” Penelope asked, her upper lip curled back in a sneer.
 

The man shook his head. Nova scoffed. “A DeLuca Devil, then.”
 

“Where does Fortune hide out?” I demanded to know.
 

The mugger hid his bleeding face from another blow from Nova’s fist. She’d only hit him once, but for him, that seemed to be enough.
 

“I don’t know,” he stammered, “but word is he’s got something going tonight.”
 

“Where?”
 

“Fourth and Church,” he said, wincing when she leaned in.
 

“Fortune is here, downtown?” Nova asked.
 

The look on her face made my stomach lurch.
She’s already decided to go after him.
“Are you sure?”
 

He nodded.
 

“Tonight’s your lucky night,” I told him, “but if we see you pulling that crap on anyone again, she’ll make sure you regret it. We’re here a lot and know your ugly mug now. Get out of here before we change my minds.”
 

Penelope made a sound of protest behind me, but I paid no attention. Nova stepped away from the guy and he took off without another glance. Penelope harrumphed under her breath and I blew my breath out in a huff.

“What is it you’d like to say, Pen?”
 

She didn’t hesitate, gesturing to the enemy’s back. “We’re just gonna let them go?”
 

“We don’t have time to wait for the cops. What could possibly be any other options?” I shot back. “Killing people is not something we do.”