Secret Super (Book 1)

11. The Meeting

"Are you okay?" Alek kept glancing over at Zadia, concern creasing his forehead. Around them, trains glided past on the skyroads visible outside the windows of the break room, faint blue lights from billboards and screens flashing through the Smog. "What's going on?"

"I'm just tired," Zadia said, glancing down at her watch. It wasn't completely a lie. She hadn't gotten a full night's sleep since she'd escaped a super facility through the sewage system and revealed her secret to a stranger. But she'd done her best to smooth down the strands of hair from her frizzly ponytail and conceal the dark lines under her eyes; she needed to look at least somewhat presentable for her meeting with Xavier.

The meeting had already been arranged and the time and place set. All thanks to Kara, the strange, reckless, shiny girl that Zadia wasn't really sure how to feel about. She found herself wondering where Kara was now or what she was doing and her lips twitched into a smile. Probably on a mission somewhere, breaking down doors for fun. Probably in another sewer.

"Any progress?" she asked Alek to keep him from pushing the subject.

Alek grimaced, running his hand through his lanky hair. "You know how the sector-governors are, they won't do anything without getting bribed for it. I really thought . . . Well, we had a few sympathizers, at least."

Zadia pressed her lips together, Alek's words only confirming what she already knew she had to do. She looked down at her watch again and pushed a fork around her tray of nutritional algae, her stomach too tight and knotted to be able to swallow anything.

"Do you think we'll ever get anything done?" she blurted out. The question had been buzzing around in her head for months now.

Alek shrugged. "It's gotta be worth trying." He paused, his eyes flashing curiously. "You never told me why you started working here, anyway."

Zadia looked down at her tray. "I don't know," she said. "I just thought it was important."

That wasn't completely a lie, either, but she still felt a twinge of guilt. She hadn't joined the EPA completely from a sense of citizenship and concern about public safety, after all.

It had been purely selfish at first: the factory owners were going to pay for what they did, and Zadia was going to get her revenge.

She clenched her hands into fists, the hot anger twisting in her stomach and leaving a bitter taste in her mouth. So many years had passed, and that anger hadn't faded. She held onto it.

Em's death, she'd decided a long time ago, wouldn't be for nothing.

Alek nodded, chewing on his food thoughtfully. "That's why I joined too. Some people say that the sky used to be blue. I guess I want that back someday."

Zadia's nails cut into her palms and she forced a smile. "Is that all? Just so you can see a blue sky?"

"That and preventing the destruction of our planet," Alek added, grinning. He leaned back in his chair, draping an arm over the back of the chair.

"Do you think the rumors are true?" Zadia finally ate a piece of something that vaguely resembled a vegetable but it tasted like rubber. She swallowed quickly.

"What rumor? That Quicksilver isn't actually a super but just on steroids? That Spitfire is having an affair with a civilian?"

"What? No. I meant the rumor that the government's gonna shut down the EPA."

"Oh, that." Alek bit his lip, for once his expression grew serious. "How should I know? Not much we could do about it, anyway." He shrugged.

"Right." Zadia looked down at her tray and sighed. She glanced at her watch. "I have a few things to review with a coworker," she said quickly. "See you around." She didn't wait for Alek to respond before dumping her food and tray into a bin and rushing out of the room.