“Corvus Night?” I murmured in a low voice while feeling the blood freeze in my veins.
That did not make sense.
Corvus Night had robbed a jewelry store not long ago, escaped by turning into a crow, and now she was again near a jewelry store as if the laws, logic, and common sense of not repeating patterns to avoid getting caught were repeating themselves.
I pressed closer to the alley wall, trying not to be seen.
In front of me were the three subjects I had seen earlier and one more carrying a small metal box.
They were not delivery guys. They were not people waiting for an Uber. And definitely not lost tourists.
They were criminals. My watch vibrated again.
[Oliver, confirm visual and report. Do not approach.]
Sarah’s voice came from the watch with that energetic tone that tried to sound calm but was not quite succeeding.
“Visual confirmed” I whispered. “I think it is Corvus Night. Tight black suit, dark feathers, black hair with purple strands, and the attitude of someone who enjoys ruining my first day of work.”
[Do not improvise. Do not attack. Do not burn the alley. Do not burn the suspects. Do not burn anything that could be used as evidence.]
“Understood.”
I was not sure my heart had understood.
Corvus was leaning against the back wall of Lily Jewelry as if the alley belonged to her.
She had her arms crossed and a calm smile. Too calm for someone committing a crime in broad daylight again.
“Move quickly” she said looking at her helpers. “Elegance does not mean slowness.”
One of the criminals looked up and saw me. Our eyes met. That was bad.
“There is someone there!” shouted the one with the black cap pointing at me. Everyone turned, even Corvus of course turned to look.
Her violet eyes fixed on me and her smile grew bigger. It was the same smile I had seen in the jewelry store. That villain smile that seemed to know something you did not know.
“Well, well” she said taking a step toward me. “The cute boy now has a hero jacket.”
I looked at my dark blue jacket. Now I had a hero jacket and that only made me feel like a target with an official logo.
[Oliver, fall back now.] Sarah said from the watch.
“I cannot fall back too much” I answered in a low voice. “They already saw me.”
That is exactly why you fall back. Your job was to observe and report, not to become a target for criminals in an alley.]
Corvus walked toward me calmly while the criminals moved behind her trying to close a bag and carry the metal box.
“Is the supervisor scolding you?” Corvus asked tilting her head. “How adorable. Rookies with a supervisor are my favorites.”
I should not answer, but my mouth sometimes worked without asking permission from my brain.
“I am learning the trade.”
“I notice. You look tense.”
“I am in front of a criminal who can turn into a crow.”
“And even so you do not run away.” Corvus got a little closer. “I like that.”
I felt heat in my hands. I should not shoot fire. There were no civilians nearby, but there were walls, boxes, cables, merchandise, and surely cameras. If I burned something, Sarah was going to murder me administratively.
[Oliver, final warning. Fall back toward the main street and keep distance.]
I wanted to do it.
But it was my first real mission and I did not want to look like a useless person who only knew how to receive payments, eat hamburgers, and look at suspects from a vending machine.
Corvus got close enough to speak without the others hearing.
“I did not come for the jewels” she said in a low voice while her smile became more dangerous. “I came for you.”
My brain went blank. “For me?” She answered “For you.”
The watch vibrated like crazy.
[What did she say? Oliver, answer. What did she say?]
“I am not sure I want to repeat it.”
[Oliver.]
Before I could say anything else, one of the criminals threw a box toward the exit of the alley.
CLANK!
The box bounced on the ground and opened, dropping several metal pieces that rolled everywhere. The others started running in different directions.
Corvus smiled.
“Time to decide, flame boy.”
She jumped toward a side ladder and started climbing with an annoying agility.
“Shit!” I ran after her.
[Oliver do not chase without authorization!]
“I am only following her to track her later.”
[That is not following to only track her. That is running after a villainess!]
She was right, but I was not going to admit it in the middle of a chase.
Corvus reached a low rooftop, jumped onto the roof of a store, and her helpers started scattering through the alley. One carried a huge backpack, another ran with the metal box, and the third tried to blend in with the people on the street.
I had to choose.
Capture the thieves or follow Corvus.
That was a shitty decision.
“Sarah, I have suspects escaping and Corvus going up on the roofs.”
[Priority: civilians and recovery of merchandise. Do not separate, do not go up on roofs, do not use fire at height.]
“Perfect, so I just let the villainess who just said she came for me escape.”
[Oliver!]
A dry thud sounded behind me.
PUM!
The criminal with the backpack fell to the ground as if someone had kicked his legs.
But there was no one.
Then I heard a familiar voice.
“I knew you were going to get into trouble.”
Vanessa appeared out of nowhere from one moment to the next. She had appeared.
“Vanessa?” I asked not understanding. “What are you doing here?”
“I had a feeling.”
That sounded weird but I could not ask questions and lose more time.
At that moment I wanted to trust her. Besides, she had just thrown a criminal to the ground and that was pretty useful.
“A feeling?”
“Yes.”
“That is not an explanation.”
“Not now.”
Sarah let out a sound through the watch that seemed like a mix between frustration and wanting to scream.
[Vanessa? Why are you in Oliver’s mission zone?]
“Unsolicited support.” Vanessa answered while holding the criminal with the backpack.
[That does not exist as an official category!]
“Well, create it.”
Vanessa looked toward the rooftop where Corvus was standing watching us with a hand on her waist.
“What did she tell you?”
“Nothing important.”
Corvus leaned forward a little from above and spoke with a sing-song voice. “I told him I came for him.”
How did she manage to hear from so high up?
Vanessa’s face changed. Not much, but I already knew her well enough to know that bothered her.
“For you?” Vanessa asked looking at me.
“Exactly what I asked.”
“I do not like it.”
“It does not seem reassuring to me either.”
“I like it even less than you do.”
“That is not a competition.”
Another criminal tried to escape behind us.
“Stop arguing and stop him!” Sarah shouted from the watch.
Vanessa disappeared suddenly. The criminal received a push and fell against some boxes.
I raised my hand toward the third one who was running toward the street, but I stopped.
Thinking about everything I was not allowed to do, which was basically not burning absolutely anything.
Not turning my first mission into a huge debt for property damage.
So I did the only thing I could think of. I ran, caught up to him from behind, and pushed him against the wall with my shoulder.
The guy fell sitting down and stayed complaining. When I looked up, Corvus was already at the edge of another rooftop.
“Vanessa, she is getting away.”
“I see.”
Corvus raised a hand and dropped something black. For a second I thought it was a knife or something dangerous.
But it was a feather. Then her body dissolved into a shadow of black wings.
A crow shot toward the sky, flapping its wings hard, crossing between the low buildings of the commercial area until it disappeared behind an advertising screen.
She escaped again.
“Damn it” Vanessa said appearing at my side.
I walked to where the feather had fallen. It was black, shiny, and bigger than normal. I bent down carefully and picked it up between my fingers.
It was warm. It felt like it reacted to the heat of my hand.
I felt a small pressure in my chest, as if my fire had responded to it without me ordering it to.
The watch vibrated.
“Oliver, report status” Sarah said through the smartwatch.
I looked at the feather, then looked toward where Corvus had disappeared.
“I am not sure” I said in a low voice. “But I think Corvus left something for me.”