Page 36 of Secret Spark
“Shit. Greta’s gonna kill you.”
“She won’t get caught.” Mark waved and called, “Hey! Up here! Long time, no see. What have you been up to?”
“The usual.” Race’s calm voice carried up from street level. “What are you up to?”
“Oh, y’know, just hanging out. Joanie’s here. Come say hi, Joanie.”
She sent Mark a wary look, but complied to take the heat off Greta. “What’s up, Zee?”
When no one was around, they usually reverted to real names with Zee. The Heroes also knew all the Villains’ actual first names. Irving was especially bad about inadvertently using them in public. His invisibility made him forget he could still be heard.
Zee stood with hands on hips, off-white Race gear bright in the harsh floodlight. “We got a report of some suspicious activity,” they said.
Mark gasped. “How terrible. We’ll keep our eyes open for anything untoward.”
“Uh-huh. You, uh…” Zee cocked their head. “You wouldn’t mind coming down here, would you?”
“Aww, what’s the problem? You can’t zigzag up the side of a building?”
“Not yet.”
Resting his arms on the roof’s edge, Mark said, “Where’s your flyboy? Why don’t you send Flight up here?”
A long pause, and then: “He’s on vacation.”
“What?” Mark turned to make a face at Joan. “You get vacation days?”
“Deservedly so, yes,” Zee said.
“Are they paid?”
“Of course.”
“My tax dollars pay for you to take vacations?”
“Do you pay tax dollars?” Zee said at the same time Joan said, “You don’t pay taxes.”
Mark hunched over the ledge. “Do you get medical and dental insurance?”
“That’s all taken care of,” Zee said. “Vision, too.”
“Come on. Nobody gets vision coverage. That’s an urban legend.”
“We do.”
Mark grumbled to himself. Joan shared a look with Zee. She never really minded dealing with them. Race had always been the least greedy of the Supers. The leastJustice no matter what. They were actually kind of chill considering super speed was their forte. She’d never admit to it, but Zee cracked her up with their dry wit. In another life, they would’ve been friends.
A black SUV careened around the corner and screeched to a stop. The rear door flew open, and Lunk charged out.
“Yippee!” Mark cheered. “It’s a party now.”
A young white guy scuttled out from the driver’s side. He looked uncomfortable in the dark suit hugging his thick frame.
“New sidekick?” Joan guessed.
“Hi, New Sidekick,” Mark said. “I’d learn your name, but the Supers go through you so fast.”
The floodlight glinted off New Sidekick’s glasses. “The main entrance is to the right,” he said, looking at his phone. “There’s a rear entrance to the left, and a big garage door beyond that.”