“Your partner’s hot.”

George said it like an afterthought, her deft fingers knuckle-deep in whatever piece of bohemian jewelry she expected to adorn Gabe with next. 

Her older sister, Candace, was out of town. So it was just the two of them in her sparse Tower apartment. They were surrounded by half-empty bottles and take-out pizza, some old movie playing silently on her flat screen. 

Gabe had successfully blown off Dex’s many requests to spar tonight, claiming he had homework to do. He didn’t like that lying seemed easier these days.

“Of course he’s hot. Tell me something I don’t know,” Gabe finally answered through a mouthful of cheese. He shoved the rest of his crust back into the box. “He’s kind of a cyborg, though.”

George shrugged, one of her long braids shaking loose of her bun. She'd said something about them being more suitable for Guardian training. “Honestly, just makes him hotter.” 

She finished whatever row she’d been working on, and Gabe stuck out his arm and shoved up his sleeve so she could tie it around his wrist. “How are things with your parents and Dex?" George asked with a frown. "They’ve been working a ton lately.”

Gabe sighed. “They’re going stir crazy. Dad has Dex doing reconnaissance like, 24/7. He keeps trying to get me to come over so he can have an excuse to stick home.”

George snipped the extra threads, adjusting the bracelet above the others so the blue stone was facing out. “I thought you liked sparring with Dex.”

Gabriel groaned, falling bonelessly against George’s vintage couch. “I do, but I’m just so restless, George. Seeing them makes it worse. They won’t let me help with the case at all. They were my friends too, you know? I just want to contribute.”

“You can’t, Gabs,” George said quietly. There was none of the usual teasing in her voice. She rubbed her temples. “Having someone without an agency on the case could compromise the investigation. You know that.”

Gabe’s stomach sank. “I know. I’m sorry, I’m sure you—” He cleared his throat. “Anyway. You haven’t told me about your partner yet.”

George rolled her eyes. “She’s a total fangirl. She spent, like, half of our first meeting asking about you. She tried to convince me to bring you over for a “study session” at least half a dozen times.”

“I can, if it’ll make things easier for you.”

George sighed. “I’d be a better person if I said no.”

Gabriel nudged her shoulder. “Hey, we’re both terrible people. I thought that’s why we were friends. When’s the group?”

George hadn’t been kidding.

“Oh my God,” George’s partner breathed the moment Gabriel walked through the door. Her bright pink hair was tied up a high ponytail and she had round, clear glasses that took up the better part of her face. “I am about to be so embarrassing.”

Gabriel laughed. 

He found he actually sort of meant it. 

George clapped him over the shoulder. “Kira, this is Gabriel. He’s way less impressive when you actually know him, so prepare to have your bubble burst.”

“Right, yes, I’m Kira. I am so sorry. I…” she blushed furiously, holding out a slender hand covered in rings. Her arm was being swallowed whole by a chunky knit sweater all the way down to her knuckles. “I’m a big fan of yours. I didn’t mean to actually get you to come. George, I’m so sorry, I was so uncool the other day.”

Gabe shook her hand, which he was pretty sure was trembling. “Hey, no biggie. I’d rather meet someone who actually likes me for once.”

Kira rolled her eyes. “The hate you get is way over the top.”

“Don’t compliment him, it’ll go to his head,” George said, pushing out a chair with her boot. “Kira, didn't you want to show him your attribute?”

Kira flushed all the way to the tips of her ears. “Um. Sure! Yes. I'd been working on this for awhile for a convention, but...” 

Gabriel blinked, and the very next moment, two impeccable copies of him were grinning from beside Kira, flashing peace signs. He ran his fingers through the projections. They were cold, like air conditioning. “Wow, these are so realistic! Can you copy anybody?”

“Um. Kinda. I have to really look to get them right. But my best copies are people I’ve seen before!" Kira was pretty much hiding in the neck her sweater, the frames of her glasses slowly lifting up the further down she went. “I know what you look like, though.”

Gabriel snorted, shooting George a smug look. “George, your partner gets it. I’m awesome.”

George threw a mechanical pencil from the table at him. “You’re tedious, is what you are.”

“So what is it we’re studying? You know, other than me.” 

“Right,” Kira squeaked. “George and I have a project coming up in Corporate Navigation and we’re supposed to research from primary sources. We need to get the companies, their logistics and their attribute specialties down. George said you’d be a good resource, since, you know…” Kira kicked at the ground with her foot. Her sneakers had little cats on them. “Your dad’s the head of Nova.”

The top Guardian of every agency usually served as a figurehead, but the truth was, they had little actual power. Dad and his partner, Jean, had more than most -- sitting in on board meetings, making the final decision on recruitment, and possessing two of a handful of vetoes on major company decisions. But the other big four: Solis, Stella, Eclipse and Halo, were notorious for being impossible to work for. Endlessly demanding of their employees and ruthless in their recruitment.

George spun a pen between her fingers, scanning their rubric. “Alright, here’s the meat of it. Gabs, what’s the average tenure of a Guardian at the corporate level?”

Gabriel flopped over into one of the plastic chairs, balancing a pencil on his nose. “Depends on how specific you want to get. Top five? An easy 20 years, usually until retirement. But at some of the smaller agencies it’s more like 3 or 4 years.”

The two of them took careful notes, and Gabe gave the most fulsome answers he could. Nova specialized in enhancement and strength attributes, Solis in fire and shifting, Stella in light and water. Eclipse and Halo were less picky, but both erred on the side of “anything powerful goes.”

The civilian casualty rates varied by agency, but again, were lower among the top five. 

“What are the Guardian fatality rates?” Kira asked.

Gabriel and George froze.

“Um,” Gabe said, scratching his neck. “The last few years have been complicated for the data, you know, because…”

Kira’s eyes went wide. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry. Of course, please, forget I…” She swallowed hard. “Forget I said anything.”

George’s mouth was in a flat line, but she took a deep breath. “It’s okay. We can’t avoid it forever. Nova’s fatalities have been quite high, but it’s difficult to count them when we don’t know why they’re happening. If it’s retaliation, they should go in the statistics. But if it’s personally motivated, they can’t be. Until the investigation is done…” George and Gabe shared a look.

“We just don’t know why they died.”