Chapter 26: Damage Report
The money sat in neat stacks on the table.
Lisa counted it with the efficiency of someone who'd handled illegal gains before—separating Coil's cut, calculating the five-way split, setting aside operating funds for the team. Her fingers moved automatically while her attention stayed on the room.
"Ninety-three thousand, after the boss's percentage," she said. "Split five ways, that's eighteen-six each. Not bad for twenty minutes of work."
"Twenty minutes of work and two deaths," Alec said from the couch. His voice was flat, none of the usual ironic edge.
"Three if you count the E88 ambush." Brian leaned against the wall, arms crossed. "Which we need to address."
"E88 wasn't predicted," Lisa said. "Stormtiger and Cricket were on the other side of their territory when we started. They repositioned specifically to intercept us."
"Hookwolf." I said the name without inflection. "He told them about my power. They came to test if I'd really come back."
Silence around the table. Rachel broke it.
"We got paid. What's the problem?"
"The problem," Lisa said, "is that E88 now has confirmed intelligence about Revenant's resurrection. The problem is that the Wards saw us engage E88 during extraction and will be investigating the connection. And the problem—" she looked directly at me "—is Shadow Stalker."
Brian straightened. "What about her?"
"She operated off-protocol during the robbery. Infiltrated solo, made physical contact with Revenant during the fight." Lisa's expression was carefully neutral. "My power says she recognized something. Not proof, but enough to dig."
"Recognized what?"
"Something about his movement. His build. The way he fights." Lisa's eyes stayed on me. "If she connects Revenant to a civilian identity, the PRT follows that thread. And then we all have problems."
I kept my expression steady. The Winslow confrontation—the real source of Shadow Stalker's recognition—stayed locked behind my teeth.
"How bad?" Brian asked.
"Bad enough that she's probably already filing reports. Bad enough that she's motivated by personal grudge, not procedure." Lisa paused. "Bad enough that if she finds proof, she won't go through channels. She'll act directly."
The silence stretched.
"So what do we do?" Alec asked.
"We let the heat die down. We stay off E88's radar. We don't give Shadow Stalker anything else to work with." Lisa stood, gathering her share of the money. "And we hope she doesn't have anything more than a hunch."
She walked toward the door, then stopped.
"Oh, and Revenant? Whatever you're not telling us about why she recognized you specifically—I suggest you figure out whether keeping that secret is worth what it costs."
The door closed behind her.
Brian looked at me. "Is there something you're not telling us?"
I thought about the Winslow parking lot. About Sophia Hess's eyes when I'd named her cape identity. About the threat I'd made that had turned a casual enemy into something personal.
"Nothing that changes the situation," I said. "She recognized something from the fight. That's all."
Brian held my gaze for a long moment. Then he nodded—not believing, but accepting.
"Get some rest. We'll talk more tomorrow."
Alec caught me in the hallway.
He leaned against the wall with studied casualness, but his eyes were different. Sharper. None of the bored deflection he usually wore like armor.
"Does it hurt?"
The question was flat, direct. No setup, no irony.
"Every time," I said.
Alec nodded slowly. "The Stormtiger one. I saw it happen. The air blade, the—" He stopped. Started again. "I've seen people die before. My father made sure of that. But I've never seen someone die for me."
"It wasn't—"
"Don't." His voice was sharp. "Don't tell me it was tactical or that you were just blocking the shot. I saw your face. You knew what you were doing."
I didn't have a response. He was right.
"Just..." Alec pushed off from the wall. "Don't make it a habit. I don't like owing people."
He walked back toward the main room, and the mask of bored indifference slipped back into place like it had never been gone.
But something had changed between us. Something neither of us would name.
My share of the money sat in a paper bag at the bottom of my pack.
Eighteen thousand dollars. More than the original Evan Hebert had made in three months at the Docks. Blood money that smelled like new paper and felt like compromise.
I counted it once, then stuffed it back in the bag.
The Fragment Sensing pulsed at the edge of my awareness—still new, still strange. I could feel Lisa and Brian in the main room, their powers registering as faint signatures I couldn't interpret yet. The sensation was unsettling, like hearing music through a wall without being able to identify the song.
Tier 1. The system was advancing. The fragments were growing stronger.
But I'd lost the spatial awareness. The first power I'd earned, the one that had felt like a natural extension of my body—gone, overwritten by Stormtiger's aerokinesis.
The loss stung more than the deaths.
I pocketed my share and headed for the door.
"Revenant." Lisa's voice stopped me at the threshold. "I meant what I said. Whatever you're hiding—figure out if it's worth it."
I didn't answer. I just walked out into the night.
To supporting Me in Pateron.
with exclusive access to more chapters (based on tiers more chapters for each tiers) on my Patreon, you get more chapters if you ask for more (in few days), plus new fanfic every week! Your support starting at just $6/month helps me keep crafting the stories you love across epic universes.
By joining, you're not just getting more chapters—you're helping me bring new worlds, twists, and adventures to life. Every pledge makes a huge difference!
Join now at patreon.com/TheFinex5 and start reading today!