There were plenty of lower districts that made great hideouts for people like Jasper. The Blue District and the Tide District were particularly popular choices for villains, but her apartment happened to be in the Gray District. It had the highest crime rates, few police precincts, several non-Blade gangs determined to protect their territory, and a lot of people crammed into small living spaces.
The team left the car in a parking garage that charged exorbitant prices to simply keep vehicles behind a locked gate. Even that sometimes wasn’t enough to keep out more daring thieves, but everyone in the area knew who Jasper’s car belonged to. And they knew anyone caught near the thing on her cameras would regret it.
After that came a short walk to the apartment complex across the street. Grace’s eyes darted back and forth anxiously, as if she expected any one of the people passing by to attack.
“Relax, Angel,” Jasper said quietly. “Most of these people are just trying to get through the day. And anyone dangerous is nowhere near a match for me.”
“Right.” Grace’s eyes dropped to the crack-ridden pavement. “I keep forgetting who’s protecting me.”
They reached the entrance to the building, the exterior of which was covered with once-shiny panels of white metal that were now grimy and graffitied. Jasper punched in the code on the keypad by the gate and led the way inside. “Any criminal in the area with half a brain cell knows I live around here. They stay away from this block. In exchange, the apartment manager doesn’t rat me out to the police.” They rented under a fake identity, of course, but there was bound to be one officer out there brave enough to go looking for Van Terra if he thought it would win him a promotion.
Holly caught up on Jasper’s right. “Can we move faster?”
“Go ahead if you’re so impatient,” Jasper told her. “I’ve got to make sure Angel here doesn’t pass out.” And, truthfully, Jasper didn’t want to walk any faster. She was in much more pain than she was letting on.
Holly rolled her eyes but kept pace with Jasper. “What’s the plan?”
“What do you mean?”
“For tomorrow. When are we leaving for Starchatter? What disguises are we using?”
Jasper shrugged. “I thought tomorrow would be a ‘go with the flow’ sort of day.”
“So, what are you doing at Starchatter, exactly?” Grace asked. “What does that have to do with Ringmaster and his races?”
Holly shot Jasper a glare. “Do you have a plan on how to handle her? Are we going to lock her up?”
“For starters, she’s a person, not a stray animal,” Jasper said. “And I hadn’t thought that far ahead.”
“Right. Why would you do that?”
They reached the elevator. Jasper pressed the call button. “Ringmaster gave out limited information about the races, but he made it clear he would be monitoring the courses extensively,” she explained to Grace. “Which means he’s going to need to spend some time setting up and scoping out the area.”
The doors opened, and the five crammed into the tiny elevator.
“The first race will take place here on Kronos,” Jasper continued as the elevator jerked upward. “We found out that a building on the course has a whole floor closed off, as of a few days ago. Signs mention renovation, but they’re vague, and security is ridiculous. Every entrance guarded at all times by people who are probably undercover goons working for Ringmaster.”
“The renovation is fake?” Grace guessed.
Jasper nodded. “Most likely. The guards won’t let us get close enough to find out. And I don’t want Ringmaster knowing I’m after him, so violence is unfortunately not an option. Instead, we’re going to infiltrate Starchatter. Their offices are directly below the target area. We’ll see what we can learn and maybe find another way in.”
They stepped off the elevator at the thirteenth floor and made the short walk to the apartment. Jasper flung the door open with as much flair as she could muster through her pain. “Welcome to my home.”
“Our home,” Holly corrected.
“All you do is complain about the place.”
“I just find the decor a bit—much.” Holly’s fingers brushed the gold frame of an abstract painting stolen from an upper district museum. The rest of the apartment was furnished in mostly black, balanced with some white, and accented with more gold. And hot pink. And anything that caught Jasper’s eye while she was out and about.
Jasper gestured to the black couch in the living room. “Have a seat, Angel. Dax, Thea, could you take a look at her injuries? I have no idea how much is cybernetic and how much is good old-fashioned biology.”
“I don’t really know, either,” Grace admitted as she sat down. Pain flashed across her face when she stretched out her wing for Dax and Thea to examine.
Jasper leaned against the wall nearby and carefully traced a finger along the blade of a sword hanging behind her. It was her favorite sword: a huge weapon with a wide blade that excelled at deflecting bullets. Components integrated into the metal made the blade glow pink with the flip of a tiny switch in the darker pink handle. She usually kept it on her but had left it home today to ensure the police wouldn’t have a chance to confiscate it when she got arrested.
“Thea, is the extra bedroom still filled with your junk?” Jasper asked.
“It’s not junk,” Thea replied as she sat down next to Grace. “You wouldn’t get anything done without that tech.”
“Okay, whatever, is the bed clear at least? Can our guest sleep in there?”
“Yeah, she’ll be fine.” Thea rested a hand on Grace’s shoulder and raised an eyebrow. “There’s some pretty complex wiring going on here.”
Dax settled in on the other side of Grace and examined the bruises forming on the side of her face. His palms glowed a faint blue, signaling the use of his healing power.
“Is my wing okay?” Grace asked.
“There’s not a scratch on the wing,” Thea told her. “Whatever the feathers are made of, it’s tough. Probably a galaxium alloy.” She leaned in and frowned. “There is some damage to some components under your skin, but I think they just need a circuit reset. I can get them working again with my powers alone.”
Holly moved to Jasper’s side. “I still think this is a terrible idea,” she whispered.
“Noted,” Jasper replied.
“Are we really going to keep her around until we take down Starr? We have no idea how long—”
Jasper cut Holly off with a sigh. “I don’t know. Right now, I’m focusing on Ringmaster. Once I have a better idea of how useful she’ll be when it comes to Starr, I’ll start thinking long-term.”
The blue glow faded from Dax’s hands, and he stood up. His powers weren’t a cure-all, instant fix. He could get rid of light scratches in seconds, but for anything worse, he essentially sped up the healing process through a form of biological energy manipulation.
Thea stood, too. “Go ahead and see how that feels,” she said.
Grace stretched out the wing and winced. “Well, it’s better than it was,” she said. “Thanks.”
Jasper clapped her hands together. “If you two are done, I’ll show her to her room.”
She led Grace down the hall and opened a door on the right. “You’ve got your own bathroom, and there’s a closet you can go through for clothes,” she said. “We keep tons of extras around for disguises. I’m sure you’ll be able to find stuff that fits.”
Jasper watched Grace survey the room for a long moment before continuing. “We aren’t hitting Starchatter until tomorrow morning, so you have a full day to rest.”
Grace turned around, surprised. “You’re taking me with you?”
“I don’t like the idea of leaving you unattended,” Jasper said. “I mean, you can stay here, if you prefer. But you’d be safer with me than here alone.” Holly would throw a fit if Grace did tag along, but the team would split up to do reconnaissance anyway. And once Grace got her bearings, she might actually be helpful.
“I guess that’s true.”
“We’re just infiltrating the building and looking around,” Jasper added. “Nothing exciting.”
Grace swallowed. “Okay.”
“I’ll let you get some rest. Holler if you need anything.” Jasper pulled the door shut and turned around. She found herself face-to-face with Holly.
“You’re going to give me a heart attack one of these days,” Jasper said.
Holly’s dark expression didn’t change. “I sincerely doubt the Blades would find her here.”
“I’m not taking any chances,” Jasper replied. “Now, could you go be creepy somewhere else?”
Holly rolled her eyes and stormed off to her room. Wondering if Holly’s eyes ever got sore, Jasper walked to the kitchen. Thea sat cross-legged on the counter, typing on a laptop, while Dax searched the fridge.
“Does anyone else want to file a complaint about our guest?” Jasper asked.
Thea shrugged. “Honestly, I don’t really care.”
“Cool. Dax?”
Dax straightened up and closed the fridge door, an assortment of meats and cheeses and vegetables in his arms. “Uh, I guess she seems nice?”
“So, you two don’t think I’m the world’s biggest idiot for helping her?”
“Not for that reason, no,” Thea said.
“You kind of did the same thing with us, didn’t you?” Dax dumped his food onto the counter. An onion rolled until it bumped against Thea’s foot.
“Yeah. You’d think Holly of all people would get that,” Jasper muttered. She left the kitchen and went to her own room—across the hall from the guest room—where she shrugged off her coat and laid down on the bed. Her thoughts were too scattered for her to sleep right now, but she figured she’d at least give her aching body a chance to rest.