Penelope had been subject to several kinds of adverse weather during her years spent moving around the country with her brother. Tornadoes in Texas. Hurricanes in Florida. Snowstorms in Colorado. But nothing quite made her curse the elements as much as having to withstand 90-degree weather in a concrete laden suburbia someone decided to erect in the middle of the desert. In fucking October.

"Jesus Christ," she hissed as she hopped out of the oasis that had been created by their rental car's overworked AC. "Fucking Bakersfield. I hate this place."

"I think it seems nice," Blue said as she emerged from the back of the car, still flipping through the brochure she had picked up from the car rental lobby. "Look, they have a zoo."

Bianca let out her twenty-seventh annoyed puff of air of the trip and came around from the driver's side to snatch the brochure away. "Where do you muster up the nerve to act like we're on a vacation?" she muttered as she tossed it back into the car.

"I figured we should at least do one productive thing while we're here, since this whole detour is a monumental waste of time. We told you back in Houston, no way would Theo hold up a place at gunpoint."

Bianca rolled her eyes and brushed past them toward the entrance of the Bakersfield police department. It was an inconspicuous sun-bleached building, tucked away at the back of an oversized, mostly empty, parking lot. Penelope was expecting the inside to be similarly sleepy, but when they followed Bianca through the slightly off hinged front door, they were met with a bustling scene. Phones were ringing faster than receptionists could keep up. Several uniformed officers were talking with distressed looking civilians. One was in the middle of talking to a woman with a press badge and a notepad when he noticed the three new arrivals and excused himself.

"Agent Leaven?" he asked as he approached, his eyes flitting between the women as if he didn't know which he had just greeted. They settled on Bianca when she showed her ID to confirm it was her. "Thank you for coming so quickly. It's been a madhouse all afternoon. Things like this don't happen here very often. Ever, really."

"Robberies?" Penelope asked, doubt in her voice.

"Well, armed robbery rates are low, yes," the officer said. "But I meant Nephilim attacks."

"Oh, he attacked them now," Blue said, her tone earning a frown from the cop.

"Excuse my colleague," Bianca said quickly, "we just weren't told this incident was that severe. Were there any casualties?"

"Um, no. One employee suffered a gunshot wound. I believe he's stable. And witnesses reported the suspects sustained injuries as well."

"How many were there?"

"Three, I believe. Two we got very vague descriptions of, didn't get us anywhere. But the third was the match in your system."

"Director Powell told me there was a woman who had extended interactions with our guy. Is she still here?"

"Yes. She's in one of our conference rooms. Right this way."

Bianca followed the cop as he led her past the reception area and down a linoleum lined hallway. Penelope exaggerated her strides to catch up with her, Blue close behind.

"Leaven if this was really an 'attack', then it makes even less sense that Theo was involved," she said once she was beside the other woman. "He's been on the run for what? Two days? And he's terrorizing civilians in Bakersfield?"

"You and I both know humans tend to exaggerate what is and isn't an attack when it comes to Nephilim," Bianca said without pause. "I don't doubt that him sneezing the wrong way would be perceived as domestic terrorism by the right paranoid witness. But don't try to tell me you think robbery is outside of the realm of possibility. Like his mother said, he doesn't have any support out here. No friends. No money. No options."

"He wouldn't hurt anyone."

"Maybe he didn't aim to. But who among us hasn't incurred collateral damage while trying to survive on the lam?"

Penelope scowled as Leaven smirked. "You read the file of every agent you're partnered up with?" she mumbled.

"Only the ones who are wildly suspicious and cocky little bastards."

The four of them turned one more corner until the cop stopped at a faded wooden door, marked with a plaque that read 'Conference Room B'. He knocked once before slowly opening the door. Inside was a dimly lit and carpeted room, furnished with a long, rounded table and rolling desk chairs. One chair directly across from the door held a young woman with slightly frizzy brown hair pulled back with a red scrunchie. She was staring down at the contents of a white foam cup, her expression vacant enough for Penelope to guess she hadn't even heard them come in.

"Ms. Cruz," the cop said gently, like he had learned not to speak any other way to woman. "These agents are from SF. They're here to talk to you about what you witnessed at the diner."

Penelope wasn't sure the woman had even heard them, but after a beat she blinked slowly and looked up. Her eyes were tinged with red and lined with smudged mascara.

"Thank you, officer Deacon," Bianca said, getting the name from the cop's uniform badge. "I'll let you get back to the front, they looked busy up there."

"Thank you. That phone on the wall has a direct line to the front desk if you need anything. Just hit 2 and the pound key."

Bianca gave another round of thanks before the officer scooted past Penelope and Blue to return to the busier section of the station. Bianca waved the two of them into the conference room and then shut the door.

"You two got to take the lead with Ms. Montoya because she trusted you," Bianca whispered, her tone a warning. "But this is my interview. Stay silent unless I ask for your input. Got it?"

"Aye aye boss," Penelope said, trying her best not to sound sarcastic. She doubted she was successful.

Bianca turned to face the frazzled woman and spoke again at a normal volume. "Hello. Ms. Cruz, was it?"

"S-Selena," the woman stuttered out, her voice slightly hoarse. She frowned at the sound of it and took a sip of the drink that was in her cup, her hand trembling slightly as she did.

"Selena. My name is Bianca Leaven. As officer Deacon said I'm with SF, the Las Vegas branch specifically. I was hoping to ask you some questions about a man you described at the incident today. May I have a seat?"

Selena swallowed her drink and seemed to hesitate before nodding, a few of her hairs breaking free from her ponytail as she did. Bianca pulled out the chair across the table from her, gesturing to Blue and Penelope as she sat.

"These are my colleagues, Penelope Yuen and Blue. We're trying to find a Nephilim who escaped our custody about two days ago in Vegas." Bianca reached into her pocket to pull out her slightly oversized phone. She swiped around on it for a few seconds before placing it on the table and sliding it towards Selena. "Could you tell me, of these men, are any the one you saw in the diner earlier today?"

Penelope moved forward to join Bianca at the table, ignoring the annoyed look she earned. Jesus, she said stay silent, not still. Penelope craned her neck slightly to see Bianca had pulled up a digital lineup of men who all had the same vague physical characteristics. Light brown skin, curly hair, scruffy beards. It even took Penelope a second to pick out which one was actually Theo. It featured his updated disheveled look, a mugshot that must have been taken while they had been readying for the raid on Rowan's casino.

Selena blinked at the photos before looking up to meet Bianca's eyes. "The man you're looking for," she said slowly, "he's dangerous?"

"He's suspected of violent crimes," Bianca said rather than give a yes or no answer.

Selena examined the photos for a few more seconds until she shook her head. "No," she said, pushing the phone back toward Bianca. "I've not seen any of those men before. I'm sorry."

Penelope bit her tongue as Bianca let out her twenty-eighth annoyed puff of air, though this was the first one not caused by Penelope or Blue.

"Ms. Cruz," Bianca started slowly, "if for some reason you feel obligated to lie on behalf of a stranger-"

"He wasn't dangerous," Selena interrupted. "The man from the diner. He was kind. He's not a criminal; everyone's just scared and assumed the worst because he's a Nephilim. They thought he was in on it, but he was a victim! And he needs help. Real help. Preferably not from a bunch of feds only interested in branding him as a monster."

Bianca held up what was probably meant to be a soothing hand, but it only seemed to make Selena more on edge. "Hold on," Bianca said, keeping her voice level. "Back up. It's my understanding that the Nephilim you described- the one who matched the one we're after- held up your restaurant at gunpoint."

"That's not true. And I never would have given the police that description if I had known they would come up with such a ridiculous story."

"Give us the real story then," Penelope interjected. Bianca shot her a glare, but Penelope withered more from the one Selena gave her.

"I tried already. None of them would listen."

"We will," Blue said, finally joining them at the table. "We promise."

Selena stared them all down before crossing her arms and leaning back in her chair, decidedly not trusting them. Penelope grabbed Bianca's phone and handed it to her.

"Pull up Theo's whole file," she said. "The one with that other photo. The yearbook shot from his old job."

Bianca narrowed her eyes, clearly not sure what good that would do. Penelope just waved her hand in a silent plea to hurry up, and Bianca obliged with a roll of her eyes. Once the photo was displayed on the phone Penelope grabbed it and put it back in front of Selena.

"The man we're looking for, his name is Theodore," Penelope said, pointing to the smiling and clean-cut version of Theo she had never met. "He used to teach middle school math in Houston. His mother is a friend of mine. You said he needs help. Is that because something happened to him at the diner?" Selena didn't answer right away, but a new shine in her eyes said yes. "You've got good instincts, Selena. Theo is a good man. He's just been put through some rough stuff lately." Penelope tapped the photo. "Been awhile since he looked like this. Look, it may be hard to believe, but I'm one of the last people on this planet who wants my bosses to find him and lock him up. If I had it my way, we wouldn't have even Started looking for him after he ran off from Vegas. But if he's in trouble we need to know what happened."

Selena squirmed in her seat slightly, uncrossing her arms to swipe at a stray strand of hair. Penelope noticed she was wearing a retro diner uniform, the apron of which had an unmistakable blood stain.

"It all happened so fast," she muttered. "I was... I was talking to that little boy one second... and then the next..."

Penelope tensed at the mention of a little boy, cursing herself for pressing for details. She just got so worried when it sounded like something bad had happened to Theo. She forgot the whole reason he was on the run was to keep SF from knowing that kid he was with existed. She and Blue exchanged a look that Bianca frowned at but didn't comment on.

"Start from the beginning, Selena," Bianca said. "Please."

Bianca took another sip from her cup and nodded this time, straightening up and letting out a shaky breath. "I-I first noticed them cuz they were brand new," she stammered. "The diner, it's a bit far off the highway to see many travelers or tourists. We have our band of usual regulars. Elderly couples, long-haul truckers, even kids from the high school up the road. But I had never seen them before. The man was..." Selena blushed slightly. "Well, I thought he was handsome. And the little boy- well, I actually thought he was a little girl at first. You can't always tell when they're that young, and his hair was really long. Almost to his waist. I didn't realize he was a boy until he started talking, his voice was a bit deeper than I was expecting... He had a scar on his face. Like, across the whole front of it." Selena drew an invisible line from her temple diagonally to her jawline. "I-It looked bad. But he looked happy."

Bianca shook her head. "I'm sorry, are you saying Theodore had a child with him?"

Selena nodded. "He was... maybe ten? Twelve? That's why I'm telling you, the man I saw can't be the one you're looking for. They were just a normal family. The kid was looking at the pastry case the way all kids do, and his brother was trying to be strict but let him order a milkshake. They were sweet to watch. Just getting a meal while on the road. But then the man went to the bathroom, and one of the guys who had been sitting at the counter pulled out a gun. That little boy was sitting there by himself, so close to it. I just wanted to make sure he didn't get hurt."

"Another patron started the robbery," Blue clarified. "Not Theodore?"

"Yes! He was a big guy. White. I-I tried to give a description to the police but I was so scared when I was looking at him. I couldn't remember any details. He said he just wanted the money, and no one would get hurt. But Dean tried to hit the silent alarm, and that guy shot him before he could. Then he waved the gun in my face and said if I tried anything he was going to shoot the kid. So, I didn't. I couldn't. I went to the register, but before I could even touch it, it was like an explosion had gone off in the bathroom. The door flew out, along with this other man I hadn't even noticed walk in. And then..." Selena glanced down at the photo still in front of her. "That man came back out, and yes, he was holding a gun. But he never fired it. He used it to confront the big guy who had started the holdup. And when that guy didn't back down... the man's eyes went black. And we could all see he was a Nephilim. Maybe his power is metal manipulation, or..."

"Telekinesis," Bianca finished. "Theodore is a telekinetic."

"Whatever his power was, he used it to crush the gun that was still in the robber's hand. And then he told me to call the police. He saved us."

"So why didn't he stick around to bask in the glory?"

"Because those men kidnapped him!"

Blue flinched as Penelope felt her insides go cold. "Kidnapped?" she repeated, really hoping this woman's memory was as shot as her nerves.

"That one who had been knocked out with the door, he came to. I-I think he drugged the man, with a tranquilizer gun? He shot something at him, and then he looked so suddenly tired. Like he was fighting to stay awake. The bigger robber used it to wrestle the gun he still had away from him and knocked him out with the butt of it. Then they started carrying him away. I just... I was frozen. I wanted to help but..."

"You've no reason to feel guilty, Selena," Bianca said, moving her hand like she was about to reach over and grab Selena's. She seemed to think better of it and stopped herself halfway through the motion.

"That little boy was braver than I was," Selena continued. "He tried to stop them. He... he had a pocketknife, I think. But they were two cruel grown men. So, they punched him once in his stomach and he went down. The poor thing threw up what little he had eaten. And then those robbers just walked right out with his brother. They didn't even look at the register again."

"Like Theo was the goal," Penelope muttered.

"What happened to that little boy?" Bianca asked.

"I went to go get him a damp towel, to clean him up, while some of my coworkers and other patrons helped Dean with his gunshot wound. When I came back, he was gone. Someone said he had gone outside to get air, but I couldn't find him. I... I think he went after them. Please, you have to help, that little boy... If he tries to do something on his own..."

Selena's eyes went from shining to tearful as her voice caught in her throat and she slumped back in her chair.

Bianca laced her fingers together and put her hands up in front of her mouth, as if she was saying a prayer. After a moment she grabbed her phone and rose to her feet.

"Thank you for trusting us enough with the truth, Selena," she said as she pocketed her phone. "And for trying your best to do the right thing back there. It was more than enough, even though you may never feel that."

Selena just fingered the edge of her apron while staring down at the speckles of blood there. Bianca moved over to the phone officer Deacon had pointed out and dialed the keys for the front desk, requesting a police escort home for Selena when she got someone on the other line. After she hung up, she turned to face Penelope and Blue with a scarily neutral expression.

"Someone will be here soon to get you home, Selena," she said, not taking her eyes off her fellow agents. "Agent Yuen. Blue. Let's move on."

Bianca left without another word, but Penelope noticed she went right out the door instead of left back the way they'd come. Penelope got up to follow but stopped when Selena leaned forward.

"You said his name was Theodore?" she said. "He's a teacher?"

"Yeah," Penelope said.

"Makes sense. He seemed like he had a way with kids."

Before Penelope or Blue could think of a response Bianca was calling for them to follow again, so the two said some quick goodbyes and darted out of the room. Just as Penelope suspected, Bianca was down the hall to the right, standing by a door she was propping open with her foot. She was waiting for them with her arms crossed, looking like a principal waiting for two misbehaving students to enter her office.

"What are we gonna do?" Blue whispered as they took their time getting there.

"Lie through our teeth," Penelope whispered back. "Just follow my lead."

Once Penelope and Blue entered the new room, a conference room identical to the one they had just left, Bianca closed the door behind them with a calmness that was more unsettling than a slam would have been.

"Would one of you like to explain to me," she said slowly, "exactly what the fuck is going on here?"

"Look, Bianca," Penelope started, hoping her acting skills had magically improved since Vegas, "we're just as confounded by this shit as you are. We don't-"

Penelope was cut off by Bianca slamming her fist against the wall, her eyes going black as arcs of electricity danced up and down her arms. Penelope and Blue both took a generous step back. Penelope had been wondering what Bianca's power set was since they met. Now that she knew she'd rather forget. It's a lot harder to work up the courage to fuck with someone when you know they can electrocute you with a snap of their fingers.

"Enough with this bullshit idiot routine," Bianca growled. "It was bad enough when you were just aiding a fugitive, but I will not let you two endanger a child."

"Calm down, Leaven," Penelope insisted. "We really don't know what's going on."

"Maybe it was Cristina," Blue said, pretending to think about it. "I mean, she said she thought the kid might be a girl at first. And she assumed they were siblings. So-"

"You expect me to buy that Selena mistook a sixteen-year-old girl for a ten-year-old boy?"

"She might look young for her age."

"And gender is just a construct," Penelope added against her better judgment.

Bianca looked like she was ready to short circuit both of them, but instead she let her eyes return to normal and the electricity dissipated. She reached into her pocket and pulled her phone back out. "I suppose we could test your theory, by showing Selena the photo of Cristina from her case file," she said, scrolling through her documents. "I had Houston PD send it when we had to change course and come here. You two willing to bet your lives on it? Because I'm just about ready to have you both detained if I walk back in there and she tells me this wasn't the kid she saw today."

"Seriously? Just because Blue's perfectly sound theory might be wrong?"

"No, because you two are astronomically bad liars who care more about covering for your buddy than the well-being of a child. Tell me the truth right now and I'll forgive every shady stunt you two have pulled since Vegas but make me pull it out of you and I'll make sure neither of you see the outside of a cell block again."

Penelope and Blue stared Bianca down in silence, neither one wanting to break their promise to Theo. But shouldn't they? If what Selena said is true, Theo was in some deep shit, and the kid he had risked everything to protect was out there on his own somewhere. Theo kidnapped, the kid in the wind, Cristina still at the mercy of the people who had abducted her. What good would their promise do if all it accomplished was getting Penelope and Blue locked up, leaving the others to fend for themselves out there?

Bianca's already steely gaze hardened as she started to turn to leave the room. Penelope balled her fists, sent out a mental apology to Theo, and spoke.

"Wait."

Bianca paused just as she put her hand on the doorknob, raising an eyebrow as if daring Penelope to lie to her again. Penelope let out a sigh and put her hands up in surrender.

"Fine," she breathed out. "I'll talk. No more bullshit. No more lies. But I... I need you to promise me something."

Bianca frowned and tightened her grip on the doorknob like she was primed to rip it off. "Boldly stupid of you to be asking for favors right now," she seethed.

"It's not for me. It's for the kid. SF can't know he exists. Please. He's the real reason Theo bolted back at the casino. Why he wouldn't talk to SF to begin with. He was just trying to help the kid."

Bianca eyed Penelope for a second before letting go of the doorknob and crossing her arms. "Explain," she ordered.

"Not before you promise."

"All I'll promise is to do what I believe is best for the child's safety. If telling SF about him is it, that's what will be done."

Penelope's shoulders slumped slightly, but she was out of options, wasn't she? She braced herself and began explaining, dodging around all the details she felt she could get away with omitting.

"The kid... What was his name again, Blue? Keegan?"

"Kieran," Blue corrected, looking as pleased about disclosing all this as Penelope felt.

"Kieran, right. Theo said he was twelve, I think? He met him when... While he was with Rowan. Rowan Pierce was his apparent legal guardian."

Bianca blinked and visibly flinched at this information. "What?" she said, shaking her head. "No, that's... Nothing we have on Rowan would suggest that he..."

"It's what Theo told us," Penelope said, deciding it was better to leave out that the kid was Rowan's brother. SF was bound to make wild conclusions about the kid's morality if they knew he was related to a killer. "Whatever the reason, Rowan was taking care of this kid, which was why Theo didn't say anything when he was questioned by SF. If they had picked Kieran up in the raid, he would have been funneled into the system. Or worse. When he left the casino, Theo left with the kid."

"He abducted Rowan Pierce's charge?"

"He helped him run away," Blue clarified. "Theo didn't give specifics, but Rowan did stuff that made Theo believe Kieran wasn't safe with him." Blue looked at Penelope. "That scar Selena mentioned? I'll bet Rowan was behind it."

Penelope tensed at the image of Selena making that line across her face. How many times had she stopped her old foster father from doing something like that to her brother? How could Rowan do that to his own?

"This can't be true," Bianca muttered mostly to herself. "How could we have not known this?"

"You wanted the truth, Leaven," Penelope said, forcing herself to shake off her sudden onset of nausea. "This is it. Theo risked it all to keep that kid away from Rowan and SF, and now..."

Bianca rubbed the side of her jaw, looking at war with herself over whether to believe the truth. "Back when Selena was talking," she said. "You mumbled a theory about Theodore being the real target in the robbery from the start."

"Yes."

"Rowan's men, do you think?"

"Who else?"

Blue scrunched her eyebrows together. "But if it was," she said, "why take Theo but leave Kieran behind?"

"Rowan doesn't care about him," Bianca proposed with a shrug, having no trouble believing a thing like that about a man like Rowan. "He just wanted Theodore to make him pay for trying to rat him out."

"If Rowan wouldn't care about Kieran leaving, why would the kid need help to do it?"

"Lack of options," Penelope suggested. "My foster father was an abusive fuck who wouldn't have batted an eye if my brother and I had vanished one day. Until his checks stopped coming, I guess. Even then, I doubt he would have looked for us. But we stayed cuz we had nowhere else to go. And Kieran's still so young. He wouldn't last long on his own."

"Maybe," Blue said, but she didn't look convinced.

"On his own is where it sounds like that kid is right now," Bianca said. "Potentially following after those men who took Theodore."

"So, we follow them," Penelope said. "Back to Vegas, and-"

"We don't know that's where they would have gone. Right now, Pierce is in the wind and exercising extreme caution. Powell tried to arrange an interview through the chairmen of one of his legitimate businesses, on the pretense of questioning him about Parker. But according to them he's been out of the country for months. In reality he's probably hiding under some hole we have no hope of finding. Even if we brought SF into the fold about this."

Penelope felt her spirits lift for a nanosecond. "Does that mean you-"

"Remains to be seen. I assume because you don't want SF to know about him, this kid is a Nephilim? What are his powers?"

"Theo didn't say," Blue said.

"It's true!" Penelope added when she noticed Bianca bristle over a presumed lie. "Theo just said he had the kind of powers SF would want to control."

"That just makes this whole 'Rowan was behind it' more suspect," Blue mumbled, looking more distressed about this than Penelope had seen her get in a while. "If his powers are something SF would want under their belt, why wouldn't Rowan? I could maybe buy him not going out of his way to get him, especially right now. But, if he was going to send his men after Theo anyway, and Kieran was right there..."

"It's... possible there's something we're missing here," Bianca conceded. "But Rowan's the only lead we have right now."

"Lead?" Penelope lamented. "He might as well be a brick fucking wall."

The three women stood in silence, heavy blankets of misery and helplessness primed to envelope them like a fort. Before they could settle, though, Blue suddenly snapped to attention.

"The car!" she shouted.

"The car?" Penelope and Bianca both repeated.

Instead of explaining herself, Blue threw open the door and raced back down the hall, shouting "Wait!" when she saw Selena walking away with her designated police taxi driver. The two paused for Blue to catch up, and she paused to get her breath back long enough for Penelope and Bianca to join them as well.

"Selena," Blue said, her voice still shaky from her sprint. "Does your diner have a parking lot?"

"Um, yes," Selena said, visibly thrown by the woman who had been almost invisible before being so full of energy now.

"And you have a good view of it from where you work?"

"Um, I guess? The building has big windows all along the front, lined up by the booths."

"Did you happen to see what kind of car Theo pulled up in?"

Selena frowned. "No. I mean, I probably saw it out of my periphery, you know? But I couldn't tell you its make or color or anything. Unless one of you is a memory reader or something."

"Do you think you would have noticed a red Corvette out of your periphery?"

Selena laughed like it was a joke, then cocked her head when she noticed Blue was looking at her intently. "Um, probably. I mean, we don't really see cars like that in that neighborhood very often. More trucks and minivans, you know? I think if I had caught sight of it, even out of the corner of my eye, it would have made me do a double take. Um, but I didn't see one today, if that's what you're wondering."

"Right, right. Gracias, Selena. Cuídate."

Selena nodded, still looking confused by the questions as she and the cop rounded the corner out of sight. Penelope was confused as well, shaking her head when Blue turned to look at them with a triumphant smile.

"What was that about?" Bianca asked, making Penelope feel better about her cluelessness.

"The car!" Blue repeated, as if that was a sufficient explanation.

"Those words aren't as self-explanatory as you seem to think they are, Blue," Penelope said.

"You saw it, didn't you? The car Theo left the casino's garage in?"

"Uh, no. I was too busy being shot at, remember?"

"It was a red Corvette. With a back window that had been shot out, thanks to Rowan. A car like that? Extremely conspicuous. With SF and Rowan to worry about, they would have gotten rid of it. Selena herself said she would have noticed if Theo had parked one there this afternoon. So, they must have gotten something that would have blended in, a minivan or sedan or truck or-"

"Wait, wait, wait," Bianca said, putting her hands up to stop Blue. "Why the hell are you excited about this? If what you're saying is true, what good would it do us to know they traded in a car we have a description of for one that could be literally anything else? Why are you so happy at the thought of them being that much harder to find?"

Blue looked at Penelope. "Because where would they have gotten a new car under the table?" she said, gesturing to Penelope like she was waiting for her to fill in the blank.

Penelope blinked as realization dawned over. "The mechanic," she said slowly. "Sam. Theo said he knew him. Or, he had met him at least."

"Mechanic?" Bianca pressed, not pleased that even when she in on their shit she was being left out.

"He works for Rowan," Penelope explained quickly. "He fenced Theo's car back when he first went missing in June." The truth of her explanation put an immediate damper on the hope this line of thinking had spurned. "Blue, he works for Rowan. Do you really think Theo would have gone to him for help?"

"Where else would he have gone? You said the shop was near Kingman, right? Not too terribly far from Vegas. And if Kieran was with him, well maybe the kid has leverage with Rowan's employees. If Sam hadn't heard about the raid yet, they could have made up a story."

"That's a big if," Bianca said.

"It's a start."

"It could be a big fat waste of time."

"While we could be doing what else? You said yourself finding Rowan right now is basically impossible. Penelope knows where the mechanic is."

Bianca hummed to herself. "I suppose even if your theory doesn't pan out," she muttered, "we could detain the mechanic. See if we can get him to tell us-"

"No," Penelope said, her voice emphatic enough to make both Bianca and Blue flinch. "Absolutely not. If you plan on arresting him, I'm not telling you where to find him."

Bianca's eyes hardened again as she put her hands on her hip. "He a friend of yours?" she asked, sounding doubtful.

"No. I only spoke to him once. And to be honest it wasn't a pleasant conversation. He was prickly. And callous."

"He must be at home in Arizona," Blue mumbled.

"And yet you don't want him arrested," Bianca said, "even at risk of jeopardizing both Theodore and this kid Kieran's lives, because...?"

"Because I'm not like Andrew. I'm not like SF. I won't ruin a man and his family just to further my own agenda. We can talk to him without you threatening prison or the draft. Treat him like a fucking person rather than a caged animal. And if he doesn't want to help, so be it. We move on... Leave a young man to raise his sibling in peace."

Understanding passed through Bianca's eyes. "Extending the mercy you weren't afforded, then," she said.

"Don't you ever want to?"

Bianca stared down Penelope, who stared back unflinching. Blue's eyes flitted between them, like she was a nervous bystander in a cinematic western shootout.

"And if your refusal to cooperate lands you two with a demotion?" Bianca challenged.

"Me," Penelope corrected. "Blue doesn't know any more than you do right now. I'm the only one here who went to the shop."

Andrew had been there too, but he wasn't present, so that technically wasn't a lie. Penelope wasn't sure he would have the same conviction as her with Theo's safety on the line. She wasn't sure if she should, either, but she kept thinking about that teenaged girl who had greeted her at the garage. Her pastel clothes and haphazardly tied shoes. Her excitement about the car they had driven up in. How she used past tense when talking about her mother. Penelope couldn't be sure Sam was the only one taking care of her, but the lack of any other adults there made that a strong possibility.

That girl had reminded her so much of Henry. Sam reminded her of herself. What she wouldn't have given for a fucking break when it was the two of them against an apathetic world.

"Fine," Bianca agreed. "If your refusal gets you a demotion, you're willing to stand firm in this decision?"

"I am," Penelope said, trying not to pay attention to the way Blue's face fell.

Bianca and Penelope continued their standoff until Bianca took her hands off her hips and held one out towards Penelope as if they were just meeting. Or striking a business deal.

"If this mechanic gives me no reason to believe he's a threat to public safety," she said as Penelope watched her hand like it was a snake poised to strike, "then I'll leave him be. Information or none. Deal?"

Penelope looked up from Bianca's hand to her face. Her expression was a mask of neutrality, free from the anger and annoyance that she usually wore when speaking to them. Was this what her face looked like when she was being sincere? Understanding? How was Penelope supposed to spot the tell of someone she had such limited interactions with? How was she supposed to trust someone she had only seen as a benevolent adversary so far?

Penelope straightened her posture to put on an air of confidence and grasped Bianca's hand, trying not to flinch at the slight shock she got from the contact. Bianca didn't betray whether that had been intentional or just residue from the display of her powers.

"Deal," Penelope said, hoping to hell that she wasn't going to regret this.