* * *

  Pegasus hurried upstairs. Hopefully, Sarah would take his advice and relax. He rubbed at a sore spot on his right shoulder, wishing he could take his own advice. As he exited the elevator, he almost ran into Scorpion.

  “Are you heading to the conference room?” she asked.

  He nodded. “Is Griffon here yet?”

  “I saw him go in a minute ago.” She flipped her hair back, leaning closer to him. “Also saw a lot more unfamiliar faces than I’d like.”

  “Can’t be helped.” He couldn’t say he was happy about having to coordinate with a bunch of strangers.

  Most of the conference room was already occupied. Scorpion found a seat in the corner behind Griffon, and Pegasus sat next to Unicorn. Cypher rushed in right before Zeus entered.

  Prompted by a signal from Zeus, Cypher coughed out a greeting before diving into the meeting itself. “We’ve received the—ahem—final list of government officials scheduled to attend the event. The vice-president will be abroad for the energy conference happening on the fifth and won’t be back by then, so that’s one less person and entourage we’ll have to worry about.”

  There was a groan from Pegasus’s left, probably from someone in charge of verifications for said entourage that had now wasted his time.

  “Other than that, there have been no changes from what we initially received. The full list of attendees and speakers has been updated on your tablets,” Cypher continued.

  Pegasus opened the current list, running his gaze along the names. Nothing unexpected.

  “Remember, our primary focus is to check for New Nation threats that are not within the normal scope of the president’s security,” Zeus said.

  Pegasus checked his tablet. “Have we gotten the updated list of security personnel that will be working the event?”

  “Not yet,” Zeus replied.

  Silence spread across the room.

  “Then do we have the names for the supporting personnel? Servers, cleaning staff?”

  There was a long pause before Zeus replied. “Not yet.”

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  “What the hell are those idiots playing at?” Scorpion’s frustration was almost palpable—and completely understandable. It took time and resources to investigate every single person for possible impostors. True that the team in charge of organizing the event wouldn’t know that, but someone higher up should be setting their deadlines.

  “Do we have the finalized schedule?” Griffon asked, maybe looking for some good news.

  “That’s usually the last thing they give us,” Cypher grumbled. “The current schedule has the president’s speech starting at 1600 hours, right after a brief service by some key community religious leaders at 1400 hours, and speeches by Weitz, the public head of the WRO at 1500.”

  “What time does the president arrive on site?”

  “We haven’t been given that info.”

  “We don’t need that info, do we?” Tango asked. “We’re not doing his security. We’re checking the people around him.”

  “Yes, and we don’t can’t even do that properly,” Scorpion said. “Whenever there’s an event like this, we have to work extra hours in a frenzy because those idiots up in the government can’t decide on anything until a week before. How hard is it to pick some waiters?”

  “Maybe we should take our own people,” Mermaid said.

  “Who’s gonna wait tables, you?” Cypher asked.

  “As long as it’s not Scorpion.” Mermaid laughed. “She might accidentally spill the drinks on one of those government officials who cut the WRO funding.”

  “Alright, that’s all for now.” Zeus left the conference room, the meeting over.

  There were a few confused looks exchanged by the newcomers, perhaps unused to their chaotic meetings. Slowly, the conference room emptied until only their team remained.

  Scorpion sat on the table up front, flagging down Mermaid. “Any news from your informant? Has he heard anything about them planning an attack on the sixth?”

  “I haven’t heard from him lately.” Mermaid eyes flitted downward, a wrinkle forming between her brows. “He normally doesn’t go more than a month without checking in, so I should hear from him soon.”

  “You’re worried,” Griffon said.

  Mermaid looked up at his words. “Last time we spoke, he mentioned a new person hanging around his cell that he thought might be higher up the food chain. It might have something to do with the recent attacks on the protesters.”

  Protesters were also expected to show up at the WRO during Remembrance Day. They wouldn’t be allowed inside the campus and civilian traffic would be restricted, with increased security in the landscaped area near the lake where the event would take place. But their mere presence and numbers meant the New Nation could take advantage of that chaos.

  As if on cue, Cypher raised a hand, head down over his tablet. “There’s been an explosion near the Colbert statue downtown.”

  Mermaid leaned over his shoulder to look at his tablet. “Isn’t that the expected gathering site for the protest scheduled for the weekend?”

  “Was anyone hurt?” Pegasus asked.

  “A few passersby. Locals are there now.”

  Griffon rose. “Any reaction from the protest organizers?”

  “Protests will be rescheduled, but not canceled.” Cypher didn’t look up, but waved his finger around to encompass all of them. “You’re to go help check for clues and see if there are more bombs along the planned protest route.”

  Pegasus checked his orders. They were all scheduled to head out.

  “And we just got back from there,” Scorpion complained.

  Mermaid jumped to her feet, leading the way. “Here we go again.”

  “Don’t say it,” Scorpion threatened.

  Mermaid ran off, laughing, Scorpion in pursuit.

  “Do not say it!”

  As Pegasus started moving out, he heard Mermaid’s shout from the hallway: “Rock and roll!”