Off Grid

Chapter 23: Broken Hearted

Seth pinched the bridge of his nose and took a slow, deep breath. "Look, Alvis, I haven't seen this guy in years. What makes you think he'll even pick up a call from me? Assuming I even still have a way to contact him, which I'm not sure I do."

"I think you can find one faster than we can, even if you don't."

"I probably could," Seth agreed, "but isn't your kid some tech prodigy though? Why don't you just ask him to do some digging around for you?"

"I would, but we're not really on the best terms right now," the chief admitted.

"What do you mean?"

"Just a bit of a fight. Nothing to worry about. Word of advice though? I'd keep your brother away from him. I know they've been getting... Close."

Seth raised an eyebrow. "Well, now it definitely sounds like something for me to worry about. What's going on?"

"Nothing. Look, I'm just warning you. He's dangerous. I don't think you want your brother getting tangled up in all that."

"Appreciate the concern, but trust me, Seven can take care of himself. I'm not going to ban him from hanging out with your kid just because you think he might be a bad influence. Seven's not like me. "

"I'm not talking about influence. I mean he's actually dangerous."

Seth was pretty sure he knew exactly what the police chief was hinting at. Adrian had to have powers. Really, it made sense. Seven was a superhero himself, so why wouldn't his boyfriend be in on it? He wasn't sure anything else would get Alvis so worked up anyway. The man had always been pretty open about how much he hated freaks.

That was all just a hunch though.

"Dangerous how then?" Seth asked.

"Never mind. Can you help me with this case or not?"

"I'll see what I can do," Seth said. "No promises though."

"Great. I'll be in touch."

As Seth watched him make his way out the door, he was sure he caught a glimpse of Seven's cape on the rooftop across the street from Mark's Electronics.

The hilarity of the situation didn't escape him. Seth was working with the cops, and Off Grid was working with the villains. He was the doting older brother, and Off Grid was the arch nemesis. He was stuck playing for so many sides, they were sure to collapse into each other.

If Alvis hadn't still been so close, he'd have laughed for sure.

***

When Seth walked through the door, the first thing he saw was Seven splayed out across the couch, pouting and otherwise looking completely miserable. When he passed by, Seven let out a loud, dramatic sigh.

Seth smiled and rolled his eyes. "Alright, fine. What's up, kid?"

"Nothing. I don't want to talk about it."

"If you didn't, you wouldn't be putting on your little stage performance."

"I don't know, Seth. It's a lot of things at once."

"Boy do I hear that," Seth joked, "but really, what's up?"

Seven sat up and groaned. "I wouldn't even know where to start."

"Well, what's the biggest thing? We can work our way down," Seth suggested.

"Well... You."

"Me?" Seth asked.