“Look Ortega, some things are more–“ There’s another crashing of metal through drywall behind you. Load bearing drywall? Really? Shoddy construction job. “–more resistant to fixing than others. You know how it is.” You put your best upbeat smile into your voice, willing Ortega to accept it at face value.

That gets a laugh out of her. “Yeah, don’t I know it.”

You cut her off before she can press you again. “Look, I really gotta go.”

“Uh-huh. Are we still on to meet at the park this afternoon?” You’re going to have to really work on an explanation to explain this away later..

“Y-yeah, sure, 3 o’clock? Great-see-you-then-bye.” You end the call, count to ten, and then make a run for it. 

———

“So, this isn’t what I had planned on talking about; but you’ll never guess what happened this morning.” Ortega looks at you, leaning in, an edge to her smile.

You look back over the rim of your milkshake, straw in your mouth. “Mm?”

“You remember Pennybags?”

You drum the side of the glass with your fingers, making a show of thinking back. “The magnetic guy?”

Ortega nods. “Yeah. Big bank robber, stole a bunch of things from the old Rangers HQ too, remember?”

You nod, grimacing. “Yeah, that was a mess.” Of course you remember. One of the few times you had actually seen Julia really upset.

“Well, did you see the news today?” Ortega leans in further.

You lean back, shaking your head. “I was a little busy this morning, remember?” Stupid, you berate yourself. Don’t call attention to it.

Ortega tilts her head, side-eyeing you. “Yeah, I still need to ask you about that.” She waves it off with a hand. “Anyway, there was this big complex that collapsed up in the mountains in Hidden Springs.”

You eyebrows shoot up, practiced concern in your voice. “Oh geeze, an earthquake? Was anyone hurt?”

Ortega shakes her head, “That’s the weird part, no quake and most of the service staff were just hanging around outside when Steel and I got there. I tried talking to them, apparently everyone just felt… compelled to go talk a walk at the same time.”

You frown, why had they all gone back? “That’s… kind of spooky,” you say aloud.

Ortega gestures with a fry as she speaks, “You think that’s spooky, turns out, this is where Pennybags has been held up the past nine years, can you imagine? Stole millions of dollars and then vanishes so he can spend a decade playing stockbroker out in the sticks.”

You take another sip of your milkshake before saying anything, “So… you found Pennybags then?”

“Not yet, but he might be still be in there, Ground sonar shows an intact safe-room under the rubble. They’re still digging out the mess to get to it.” You take another sip of your milkshake to hide the possible smile. It had taken a lot of effort to leave only the single path.

But still, would it really be so bad if Pennybags… didn’t make it? Your smile wilts and you shift your arms under your poncho, always uncomfortably warm in the California heat. “Shouldn’t you be up there then?”

Now it’s Ortega’s turn to make a face, “Steel’s overseeing the effort.”

“Doesn’t trust you?” You ask, innocently.

Ortega’s response surprises you however, how her shoulders slump a little. “Maybe the right call in this case.” After a few more fries, she picks back up, “You’ll never guess how we know it’s Pennybags down there though.”

“Voice of god? Welcome sign? Villains Weekly magazine subscription?”

“Good guesses, but no.” Ortega’s smirk melts back into a frown. “Right outside what would have been the entrance someone left a folder… and an action figure.”

“An… action figure.” You repeat, skeptically.

“The signed Marshall Hood figure Pennybags stole actually. And the folder was full of all the photographs he’d taken from us too.”

“Oh.” You say. You hadn’t expected her to actually talk about this.

“I… don’t really have a lot left of him. I thought I’d lost these for good.”

“I remember.” You remember seeing the front door of its hinges, running through wrecked room after room, finding an alarmingly sobbing Ortega. The first time you willingly hugged someone.

“There’s maybe five people who know about that figure, Ari, and two of them are dead now.” Ortega’s voice is quiet, her hand on the table balled into a fist.

“What are you saying?” You whisper back, mirroring her tension with your own.

“I don’t think that building collapsed on its own. No, I think that new villain did this.” Ortega looks at you, questioning. “I just can’t figure out why.”

“Do…” You fish for an idea, “do you think they’re trying to send you a message?” 

Ortega looks you straight in the face, half-eaten hamburger now completely forgotten. You wish she wouldn’t. “A message? For what?”

You look back, willing yourself not to look away, not to look guilty. “I don’t know… I mean, it’s no secret you and Hood were close, is it?”

The look on Ortega’s face only intensifies. “You think maybe it was a threat?”

Your face blanches, and shake your head. This is not going how you thought it would. “I’m not in this game anymore, remember?” You shrug your shoulders theatrically, “for all I know it could be a love letter.”