Serve and Protect

Chapter 37

Adora and Glimmer were exhausted.

They had spent hours roaming the streets of Etheria in the late spring heat. It was clear that summer was just around the corner, which only served to remind Adora that time was passing without any progress. It had been a few weeks since word of a new designer drug called Robots hit the mainstream news, and yet the Rebellion was no closer to figuring out where people were getting their hands on it. All Adora knew for sure was that, even though the Horde was still laying low, they certainly weren't slowing down.

"I don't get it," she huffed as she and Glimmer slinked off the bus in defeat. "We've been all over this city and we haven't found a single seller. How is the Horde moving this new drug?"

Looking like a wilted flower, Glimmer sighed. She didn't say anything, which wasn't like her at all. But Adora didn't push her; she knew her friend was just as frustrated as she was. Officially, these reconnaissance missions were meant to ferret out the gang, but Adora saw the way Glimmer's eyes searched every face they passed, every corner of every alley. She was still looking for her mom, and each fruitless search dulled Glimmer's glow a little more.

Hoping to lighten the mood, Adora nudged Glimmer with her elbow. "Hopefully Bow's done helping his brother move by now. What do you want to do this afternoon?"

"I dunno." Glimmer shrugged as they made their way up the path to the house. "I'm kinda tired. I might just take a—"

Before she could finish her thought, the front door flew open. Bow stood at the threshold with Entrapta's tablet in hand and looking ashen. "There you are! Guys, you've got to see—"

He stopped mid-sentence, his eyes flicking over his friends' heads. Adora turned to see what he was looking at just as a police cruiser pulled into the driveway. Her stomach dropped. She could feel Glimmer tense up at her side.

"What the hell..." Glimmer muttered under her breath. It had been a long time since anyone from the E.P.D. checked in with them. It was always a tricky conversation to navigate given that they had to play up their grief over Angella's disappearance, and acting wasn't exactly Adora's strong suit.

The trio closed ranks, clustering close together and eyeing the cruiser warily. Adora braced herself as the car's engine cut, her mind racing through what could be to blame for this unexpected visit. But when the car door opened, all those thoughts fell away until only one question remained.

"Who is that?" Adora whispered as she watched an unfamiliar officer rise from inside her vehicle. She was startlingly tall, with striking features that were framed perfectly by her hijab. Her bright eyes focused, hawk-like, on the friends.

Glimmer shook her head slowly. "I have no idea."

The woman strode up to the front steps with an almost robotic precision. She gave the friends a polite nod.

"Miss Brightmoon," she said in a soft, airy voice that seemed incongruous with her military-like professionalism. "I am Interim Police Chief Hope." She held out her hand, and while Glimmer cautiously took it in her own, Adora and Bow shared wide-eyed glances with one another.