Off Grid

Chapter 20: Sheep's Clothing

"Off Grid, I'd like for you to meet my protege. You may know him as Safeguard."

"And you trust him enough to let him listen in on our meeting?" The villain asked, eyeing the boy with distaste.

"Of course. I'd trust him with my own life."

"Fine. So what's the plan?"

"Easy," Marcus said, "we get at him through his brother. If we have him, Resonance will do anything we say."

That, Off Grid thought, would definitely complicate everything.

"That's it? Your grand scheme is a kidnapping? How juvenile. Hope you have another errand boy, Retribution, because I'm not doing it."

Or rather, he couldn't have even if he wanted to. Of all the things that Off Grid was, a magician wasn't one of them.

"As I recall, you yourself have taken hostages before, Off Grid."

"They're not the same thing. Either way, it was a long time ago. I've grown. Obviously you can't say the same."

"Perhaps you do have a heart after all, Off Grid, "Retribution mused. "In any case, you won't need to get your hands dirty this time. Safeguard has already volunteered."

Seth almost rolled his eyes, but he caught himself. "Are you sure he isn't dangerous? If the kid has powers, his brother might have them too."

The whole situation was only getting worse by the minute. Off Grid needed to know how much the two knew about him if he was to have any hope of getting himself out of the mess he'd made.

"Seth's human, " Marcus assured them both, "and Seven hasn't told him anything about his secret identity yet.  Trust me, he won't be expecting a thing."

Seth was prepared for just about anything after Off Grid's meeting with Retribution. From being jumped on his way home from work to a break in late at night. What he wasn't prepared for was Marcus strolling casually into Mark's Electronics in the middle of his shift three days later.

"What is he doing?" Seth murmured to himself, watching with narrowed eyes as Marcus greeted his manager, Megan.

Nathan leaned against the counter next to him. "You mean you didn't hear? New guy. I was here when she interviewed him. Seems like an okay kid to me.

"You're joking, right? There's no way."

Nathan didn't get the chance to respond, but the confused look on his face was all the answer Seth needed.

"Seth! Hey," Marcus called out, approaching the two with a bright smile.

Seth tried not to look as infuriated as he was. "Hey."

"Oh. You two know each other, Anderson?" Nathan asked.

"Sort of, he's my brother's friend. We only met once."

As far as Marcus knew, anyway.

"Perfect," Megan chirped, walking up to rest a manicured hand on Seth's shoulder, "you can be the one to show him the ropes then. I've got to finish inventory anyway."

Seth ground his teeth together, and the lights around the store flickered.

"Woah, weird. The wind must really be picking up," Nathan commented. "Maybe we'll lose power and get to go home early."

"Here's hoping," Seth muttered.

"So Seth, what do you say? Up for getting the newbie started for me?"