Director Piggot stared at them, her gaze unreadable. They’d been brought right back and Jim had already seen some of the videos while Director Piggot was closeted doing… Damage control.

WARDS WASH OUT SKIDMARK’S MOUTH was trending right now.

Less complimentary videos and comments focused on the nearly 500,000 dollars worth of damage (estimated) done to the street, cars, and several shops. The reporter had taken especial glee in mentioning that the ultimate damage toll could be over a million dollars and wanted to know if the Protectorate was here to help the city or destroy the city.

On the other hand, Skidmark and Mush were both in holding cells.

Then Director Piggot cleared her throat. “We’re fortunate in a way.” She clicked a button, and a video appeared on the screen, showing a well-dressed man speaking to reporters.

“Medhall has dealt with the aftermath of too many overdoses caused by the Merchant’s drug trade. While it is possible that this particular team of Wards may not have considered their actions, they have aided this city against the kind of… disadvantaged people who join the Merchants. For that reason, I will pledge 500,000 dollars towards the repair of the street and assist local shop owners in negotiating the legalities of insurance and possibly obtaining loans.”

“I’m going to have to smile and thank Max Anders while also telling everyone that the Wards knew exactly what they were doing and at no point violated policy, because such a lapse is unthinkable among our young men and women, and how could you imply such a thing, because they have my full confidence, and would at no point disobey any guidelines or orders I might give them.”

Jim found himself sinking down in that nice heavy chair intended for his weight. They would probably put that sentence next to the ‘sarcasm’ in the next edition of the dictionary.

“We took them down,” Sophia said. “Finally did some good.”

“Right. You did. The reports will no doubt say that you went in and investigated, without backup, and without contact.”

“There was a—” Suddenly, Director Piggot held up a hand. “Aegis. Not one word until I’m finished. You’re the oldest Ward, and you’ll be entering the Protectorate soon. Can you refresh my memory on section 33.5 of the combat coms policy?”

Jim frowned. What is she talk…

Then Aegis turned white.

Okay, not good.

He spoke, his voice wooden. “During, before, and after a parahuman conflict, unauthorized and private communications may be examined without a warrant or notification to verify that no participants have been compromised by masters. For that reason, official PRT coms are recorded, and body microphones are also analyzed.”

Jim blinked. Right, they told us about that, but I… Claire was giving him a look full of worry. They hadn’t lied on their reports… they just hadn’t mentioned everything that had been said, but…

“You were listening to us?” Sophia asked. “While we were on fucking patrol?”

“Language,” Armsmaster said.

Oh shit… Jim didn’t get any further. Director Piggot touched a button.

----------------------------------------

“Hello?”

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

“Sophia has done this before, and Piggot’s about out of patience. She’s probably looking for the stash, but we might be able to find her before I have to send up a missing Ward alert.”

“Guys, she shot someone with her bolts, and I think we’re at the stash.”

“Portal me.”

“Shit, fuck! We’re going to have to report this, the bolts are tracked.”

“So we get her out first. She saw something and went in.”

“Not the first time, I’d figured she’d be on better behavior, but…”

“Yeah, we know the type.”

----------------------------------------

“I…” Aegis swallowed. “Ma’am.”

“I haven’t had a chance to read your reports, I expect you will be able to revise them by tonight, and you would never dream of falsifying a PRT report, explicitly or by omission, given the penalties that could result.”

“No, Ma’am.”

“Also, Aegis, you’ll be reviewing all PRT procedures over the course of the next week with Sergeant Baines. In addition to your other duties. Trollhunter, Shadowdancer, you’ll be with him. Shadow Stalker?”

“What?”

“You’re off the patrol roster, effective immediately. You endangered your team, the public, and from what I have heard, it appears that you’ve been taking advantage of your teammates.”

“When do I get back on?”

“That depends on what the review of your conduct says.”

Sophia’s eyes went wide at that. “This… this is stupid!” She said. “We got the bad guys! This is what heroes do!”

“If you had been harmed or killed, if Trollhunter or Shadowdancer, had been harmed or killed, the responsibility would have fallen on Aegis as your immediate supervisor. You left without telling him. You forced them to look for you, and out of misplaced loyalty, it is possible that they shaded the truth to make you look better. You put your team at risk.”

“No, that’s—”

“The truth,” Jim said. “We didn’t know where you were. What if you had been hurt or killed? You’re part of our team, and you put yourself at risk.” Like me. Jim understood. It was easier to risk yourself than others, but sometimes that wasn’t the right call. He hadn’t thought Sophia had that in her, but well, people could surprise you.

“Director Piggot…” Claire asked. “Is Mush okay?”

“You gave him his first shower in about three years. He is claiming that’s a violation of his civil rights. I doubt the courts will agree. Dismissed.”

Jim left. He didn’t scuttle or run. He left.

“Fucking Piggy,” Sophia growled.

“Shadow Stalker, enough!” Carlos snapped.

“So… When do we get started on the review?” Claire asked.

“Probably tomorrow. Baines isn’t on duty tonight.” Carlos groaned. “Trust me, it’s not going to be fun.”

----------------------------------------

“I want a complete review of her records.” Piggot stared at the screen. “We thought she was doing better, but if the other Wards are covering for her…”

“I don’t think it was a planned decision on their part…”

“No, but we know she’s gone “missing” a couple of times, and it’s common enough that Aegis said I was out of patience. I am, for the record. If she’s forcing or convincing other wards to take these actions, the whole situation could blow up in our face.”

Because it may start with little lies, but it never ends there. Sophia wasn’t someone who knew or cared that covering being late for a shift wasn’t the same as covering vanishing during a patrol. The rest of the Wards were young, and they didn’t realize how often covering for a friend could blow up into covering for her assaulting civilians—or worse. Nobody started out thinking they were corrupt. They just ended up there, one tiny step at a time, helping out a friend or coworker.

“It could cause a problem.” Armsmaster looked down at her. “The pressure to show success with the Redemption Program is fairly high.”

“And if it turns out that all this is is someone wanting to patrol too much, I’ll happily return her to the streets with some more supervision. But Shadow Stalker came in with a reputation for violence and, despite her improvement, is still a probationary Ward. I don’t want this to blow up in our faces further down the line if we don’t get onto it now.”

“What do you want to do?”

“She’s on probation. She has no right to privacy. Track her cellphone to see if she’s been making any other nocturnal expeditions. If she hasn’t, I think we can deal with this by some pointed reminders and punishment duty. If she has… Well, we’ll deal with it then.” Piggot paused. “And I think we need to review her school progress.” She frowned. “I didn’t like how she managed to convince Aegis to cover for her, so let’s make certain that isn’t happening anywhere else.”

“Very well,” Armsmaster said. “I’ll get onto it. Right now, I have to see if… Merlin, is finished preparing his ‘circle’ for the transmutation of the gem.”

“Work with him, Armsmaster. I’d prefer to have a Ward we can use in the daylight, without having to wait for cloudy skies.”

“Understood.”