I didn't stick around for long after that. Jason was sure to warn Lekan that I'd come snooping, and there were a few ways confrontation between us could go as things stood, none of them good.

I headed down the avenue, making a show of my intention. Halfway through, I diverted into an alley and looped back around to the start of the street.

“Alright, Chachi,” I said, “what are your options?”

I could force the issue for one. Lekan was bound to notice me if I camped right outside the gates. But that move promised not to leave a good impression.

There was also the nasty option of really forcing the issue: Where I laid waste to the building's exterior and got Lekan to try to stop me himself.

Considering what AV had said about his cousin's abilities, that could end up being the worst possible way I died tonight. Lekan was a Queen, one of those Supers everyone feared. It was one thing to go up against Toye or Kabash, but daring someone who had unleashed an army of rats on the Four-oh-Four?

No way. Not going to happen.

In the end, I settled for the most scrupulous option. A game of stakeout.

The Christian center had no neighbors of similar size, but a nearby shanty repurposed as a bar provided a decent view of the surroundings.

I made for the shanty, sneezing as a chill wind blew demolition dust into my face. My musings on Lekan’s abilities had triggered a memory. Some kind of image—one I'd seen only in passing. It floated free like a loose thread in my mind, and I reached for it, closing fuzzy fingers around it. Then it snapped. Ugh.

The bar was a poor, dilapidated thing with only three tables and double that number of chairs. A curtain of beads decorated the entrance—a remarkable feature in an otherwise dingy shack. The bar owner perked up as I entered, already on his third bottle of the day.

“Welcome, welcome,” he said, gesturing at a menu posted on the wall.

I nodded in return.

The seat nearest to the door offered the best vantage point. All I could do now was wait.

The afternoon came and went. Six bottles of warm beer ringed my table, all untouched. The bar owner had taken to glaring at regular intervals: an act I staved off with continuous purchases of beer.

At six o'clock, I tore into a ration bar. The Christian Center had entertained its fair share of traffic, but Lekan didn’t number among them. Had Jason warned him to stay away?

At seven o'clock, I dialed AV. We'd been communicating through text, but I was just about fed up with the situation. He picked on the first ring.

“Lekan’s still not here,” I said, letting a hint of annoyance slip into my voice. “You don't think he’s bailed already, do you?”

“N-no,” AV replied. “He is somewhere in the vicinity. He has to be.”

“And you are sure of this, how?”

“Because we were raised here. J-just . . . take my word for it. If the Luminaries are in trouble, there is nowhere else he would be.”

I clucked my tongue. Four other patrons had entered the bar sometime during my watch. They occupied themselves with an argument. Football, from the sound of it.

“Any word on the Four-oh-Four?” I asked, lowering my voice. “Maybe he’s taken the fight to them.”

“I haven't gotten reports of any fighting,” AV said. “The Four-oh-Four are biding their time. You know what that means, Chetachi. Once the gangsters start moving, it will be too late. Can you try asking again at the Center?”

I ran a hand through my hair. “This is wrong. We have foreknowledge of an outbreak of violence, and we aren't warning our people to step in. We could save lives—”

“I don't care for any of that.”

My eyes widened. “You don't care that people could die any moment from now?”

“I don’t,” AV said, and his voice was hard. “My primary concern is my cousin's safety. A concern that necessitates his protection from the syndicate and the Hero Council. You understand this sentiment, don’t you, Chetachi? I refuse to take action that may harm my family.”

Oh, I understood him alright. His argument was eerily similar to my conversation with Dia Mater back at the cafeteria. Which just made it worse. Considering how bad AV’s words sounded, it said a lot about Dia Mater’s self-control that she hadn’t slapped me upside the head.

“I know this isn’t something I should be saying,” AV said. “But I cannot afford to wear myself thin by further complicating the issue. For what it is worth, I promise to alert the team the instant you make contact with Lekan. But that hinges on the fact that you do so. Soon. I will try to help everyone. But I think we both understand that family comes first.”

“You disgust me,” I said. And I meant it. More so for myself than he.

AV said nothing, leaving me to stew in silence.

What was I even doing? Wasting time agonizing over ideology helped no one. “I am going to force my way in.”

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

AV mulled over my suggestion. “Don't do that. If any of his people get hurt, Lekan won't forgive you.”

Lekan could stick his head down a drainage hole for all I cared. “Well, I have to do something,” I said, hissing through my teeth. “I don’t intend to hang around once the crisis starts.”

“The Four-oh-Four won't move until the dead of night.”

“Then we start taking drastic actions now.”

I peered at the Center. A few lamps illuminated its surroundings, making it the brightest house on the street. The Luminaries set benches in front of the building where they chatted and took up the occasional song.

A high fence walled in the building’s posterior, built in the standard pattern of houses in the city. But, if I were Lekan and someone came snooping around, I wouldn't want to use the obvious exit. Which meant . . .

. . . Shit.

“I'm ending the call,” I said, rushing to my feet. “I'll let you know if anything comes up.”

“Wait, Chetachi—”

I scurried out of the bar, ignoring the bewildered looks the four patrons shot my way. I clung again to the back alleys and the spaces between buildings, stopping only after I achieved a semi-circle around the street. The fence behind the Luminary Center stood like a great sentinel, and its towering height looked ominous in the sparse lighting. Scaling the sheer wall seemed an unviable option, and I found no exit gates—just like I remembered from my visit to the backyard.

Talk about another bust.

I made to retreat when an odd sight caught my eye. A small shed, no taller than my knee, stood with its back to the fence. Zinc sheets topped a wooden frame—a structure which housed a single deflated tire.

I crept toward the shed and peered into it . . .

It was a hole. A goddamn man-sized hole.

Someone had just used it too if the mud tracks leading out of it was any indication. The backstreet and alleyways around me lay deserted. If I had found Lekan's exit, I was a moment too late.

My heart lurched. No. Not late. I had come too far to give up now. I flitted down the road, peeking in every nook and cranny I could find.

A large dumpster stood a couple of yards away from the backstreet that held the hole. Its rank smell assaulted my nostrils, and I almost walked past, but for the rustle that reached my ears. Light from a nearby lamp bathed a patch around the dump, highlighting a lingering silhouette. Rangy limbs poked at the trash heap with a stick, attached to a wild-haired figure that matched the teenager from AV’s pics.

Lekan.

I flew across the grounds, stopping myself two seconds later. Lekan was sure to bolt if I called out to him. Not that I'd blame him. I wouldn't trust a stranger yelling my name in the dark either, not with a figurative bounty over my head.

I hid in the shadows. Maybe I should tail him? Wait until a good enough place to approach? The rangy teen rifled through the dumpster with his stick. Gross.

A few minutes later, Lekan got moving. I unzipped my bag and withdrew my costume. The sleeveless vest lay hidden beneath my shirt, so it was a matter of switching out my pants and pulling on the rest of the gear. I loped the bandolier around my arm and hung the neck gaiter beneath my chin. No point prowling about looking like a bandit.

Lekan for his part seemed unhurried. He maintained a lax pace, giving the main streets a wide berth. Twice, I almost lost him, but he had a penchant for slinking behind dumpsters and delayed whenever he found one. He picked out a sack and lugged it behind him, filling it with content from the dumps.

I glanced behind me, checking for rodents on my tail. The dark colors of my costume blended in with the night, and the noiseless soles served nicely even though I hadn't included them in my design. God bless you, Catherine.

We arrived at an uncompleted building, protected by a naked brick fence. Lekan scaled it in seconds. I donned my bandolier to free up my hands and followed after counting to ten. A large cloud wafted over the moon, dropping visibility by a few notches. I quickened my steps. Lekan had nowhere to bolt now, but it wouldn’t do to corner him either. I had to time my approach and ensure he realized I wasn't a threat.

A dull tang soured the wind, putrid, like wet rubbish left to simmer in the heat. Lekan vanished into the building’s interior, and I hurried after him, stifling a curse. Two pillars marked the entrance to the house. A large anteroom waited beyond them. Multiple corridors branched off into the dark.

I drew up just inside the anteroom, panting. This wouldn't do. Trying to confront Lekan here would morph into a lesson in stupidity. I retreated toward the door and ran into enormous jaws barreling right for me.

I screamed. My legs gave out, and the dark shape sailed over me, missing by a few inches. A whip lashed out in its wake, tearing my bag.

The dark creature skidded across the ground, throwing up a small wave of dust. Pale eyes locked gazes with mine.

A rat. A rat the size of a horse.

God help me.

The rat leaped into the air. Sharp claws closed around my shoulder, and fetid breath—dripping with saliva—slathered my face.

“Get back!”

Unbridled power left me, the greatest I’d ever used. It entered the monster and launched it down a corridor, obliterating a wall in the process. I staggered to my feet and shrugged off the pieces of the bag. A cold sweat broke out over my skin.

AV had warned me about his cousin’s abilities. But controlling rats and enlarging them were two different power sets. I had to bail. The alternative wasn’t likely to end well for me.

The rat I’d wounded keened in the distance. Almost in unison, a chorus of screeches rose to reply it.

No.

No.

“Lekan!” I said, racing for the exit. “Lekan!”

Footfalls hammered behind me. The pursuers followed from beyond the walls and above the ceiling. Sawdust fell around my head.

I was almost out of the door when the second rat appeared. It hurtled from the dark like a beast made of night. I fired a plastic shell, but the missile bounced off its hide. Nightmarish teeth loomed over my face.

The rat bit into my torso, and pain—like lightning unabating—surged up my skull. Another shape galloped in the distance, heading for the fight.

I would die here. In a stuffy hall. Mauled by giant rats.

The nearer creature whipped its jaws, dragging me through the air. I swung my palm and caught the approaching rat in the snout. It blasted into a wall. Brick and mortar exploded, clogging my throat.

I tasted my fear in the dust and glimpsed certain demise in the rancid maw tearing into my side. Fumes erupted within me, filling me with rage.

I punched my captor in the face. The plastic shell struck home, sinking into its eye. Fluid and bloody matter spurted. The rat slackened its grip and teetered to the ground.

No time to gloat. I ambled out of the house, cradling the ruined bandolier around me. My costume had weathered the bite, but the battle was far from over. I would survive. I had to. For mom’s and Nenye’s sake.

Knives sank into my arm. The new rat failed to arrest its momentum, launching us across the ground. A second monster seized my foot. The first clinched my arm again and tugged in the opposite direction. They tried to stretch me apart.

At that moment, I broke. I didn't want this—didn't want to die like this. I was done pretending I was strong.

“Leave me alone!”

The first rat flew skyward, losing its grip on my arm. The other pulled hard on my leg, coming away with my boot. It angled to attack again when a loud bark resonated across the compound.

“Bariga! Stop!”

Lekan chose that moment to appear, panting like he’d lost his lungs. He took one look at me, and terror bled into his voice. “My god. Who are you? What are you doing here?”

I wiped an arm across my face. Tears leaked from my eyes. A little of my old fury returned now that I’d regained my bearings. It started as a trickle and morphed into a geyser, jetting up my chest.

“I'm the guy who was supposed to save you,” I said, through gritted teeth. “But I'm done with that. Screw you and all you stand for. I’m taking you to the authorities myself.”