Page 24 of Villainous Intent

Oh fuck. I straightened to my full height, letting a cocky smile play across my mouth. This wasn’t my first rodeo with the Syndicate’s disapproval, and I’d be damned if I let them see me sweat.

“I’m wounded,” I drawled. I needed to sell this, and fast. “You think I’d go Hero without a payoff? Please. I’m playing a long game.”

The silhouettes remained silent, waiting.

“Keeper Bishop is Havoc’s right hand. His most trusted ally.” I began pacing, warming to my improvised plan. “What better way to gain intel on our most formidable adversary than through his Keeper? The rescue was merely step one in establishing rapport. I’m cultivating an intimate source. Close proximity, trust, access—you know how this works.”

A snort came from the figure on the far right. “You expect us to believe that?”

“It’s working,” I countered smoothly. “I’ve already made contact with her in civilian identity.”

The center figure leaned forward. “Your actions today were unacceptable. A Villain of your caliber, saving someone? The optics are disastrous.”

I clenched my jaw. Of course, they weren’t listening. The Syndicate never listened.

“The League has standards, Cipher,” another figure added. “We can’t have Villains running around playing Hero whenever a pretty face is in danger.”

So they’d noticed she was pretty, too.

“The ratings hit alone—” began the leftmost figure.

“Actually,” I interrupted, bringing up a display on a secondary monitor, “my ratings are up seven points among the 18-34 demographic. My merchandise sales increased 12% in the last two hours. Fans are intrigued.”

“Do not attempt to rationalize,” another figure cut in. “Your ratings with the League have dropped significantly.”

I crossed my arms. “The League’s opinion matters more than the public’s? That’s new.”

“Mind your tone,” the center figure warned. “However, this unfortunate incident has presented an unexpected opportunity. The perfect punishment and path to redemption has emerged.”

My interest piqued despite my irritation. “Oh?”

“The Tinkerer’s Hammer has been stolen.”

My heart skipped a beat. The Tinkerer’s Hammer? My childhood idol’s most prized possession? Memories flooded back of watching the Tinkerer’s matches on TV, studying his every move, dreaming of following in his footsteps.

“When?” I demanded, forgetting for a moment who I was addressing.

“Your enthusiasm is noted,” one figure said dryly. “The theft occurred during the chaos following today’s match between Obsidian and Dread.”

The Hammer had been here in the city this whole time? All these years of planning my rise through the League’s ranks, and I hadn’t even known it was within reach. Not that I cared for its power, it was nothing to me, but that didn’t mean I wouldn’t do anything to have it now knowing it still existed.

“A Trueborn is responsible.”

That snapped me back to attention. “What?”

“The Hammer was taken from the archives while the power dampeners were active. A serum enhanced individual couldn’t have taken it and every Trueborn is accounted for at the time of the theft,” the center figure explained. “Someone has managed to stay hidden until now.”

I willed my hands to unclench. Another Trueborn Super. One who’d stayed hidden, just like me. But unlike me, they’d sacrificed that carefully maintained secrecy for the Hammer.

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because,” the center figure leaned forward, “you’re going to help find the rogue and retrieve the Hammer.”

“Pardon?” I didn’t need the biofeedback from my suit to tell me I’d had an anxiety spike. Why would they think I could help find a Trueborn? They couldn’t know what I was.

Without warning, multiple video feeds materialized alongside the Syndicate’s shadowy figures. Annie’s confused face appeared first. She was still wearing that dress that did delicious things to her body.

The confused look on her face morphed into stunned horror, which I suppose I’d credit myself for having caused. Havoc loomed behind her. The darling of the Alliance. The wall of muscle and righteousness standing between his Keeper and the dark. His eyes locked onto me.