“Headquarters?” said Adrian, spinning to face them. “He can’t go back to headquarters.”
“Not anytime soon, obviously,” said Hugh, running a hand through his blond hair. “It will take a while to rebuild the quarantine. He’ll just have to stay put until then, but I know the staff here is going to keep him comfortable. They say he’ll be able to move to a new room in a few days, one that’s intended for longer-care patients.”
“Hold on,” said Adrian. “The quarantine? You’re going to rebuild the quarantine?”
Hugh and Simon stared at him, baffled. “Well … of course we are,” said Simon. “He can’t stay at the hospital forever.”
Adrian shook his head. “No. You can’t!”
“What are you talking about?” said Hugh. “What did you think would happen?”
Adrian stepped back. “I just thought…”
What had he thought would happen once Max was able to leave the hospital? That he could come home to the mansion? That he could share the basement with Adrian, be brothers for real?
That wasn’t possible. Not with Simon living under the same roof.
But to go back to the quarantine?
“This can’t be the only option. He hates the quarantine. And now that we don’t need him for Agent N—”
“We still need to protect him,” said Simon. “He’s a threat to prodigies everywhere, which means he can be targeted anytime.”
“Or weaponized against us,” added Hugh. “And it’s dangerous for him to be out in the world. You’ve seen the trouble we’ve had to go through just to make sure no prodigy healers accidentally wander past his room while he’s here. No. It’s safer for him at headquarters, where we can keep an eye on him.”
Adrian’s heart thumped, as if reminding him of the immunity tattoo inked onto his chest. He swallowed hard. His dads still didn’t know about the tattoos. They would ask questions, demand to know more—and all those questions and demands could tread too closely to the truth of his alter ego.
But an idea had been brewing in his thoughts for months now and was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. What if he could tattoo other prodigies? What if he could give Simon immunity against Max? Not just Simon, but his friends. Nova, Ruby, Oscar, Danna …
He didn’t know if it would work, but there was a chance. Didn’t he owe it to Max to find out?
Just considering it made his pulse drum faster. Because what if his dads discovered his secret? What would they do if they knew he was the Sentinel?
He felt sick to his stomach at his own selfishness, and yet he couldn’t bring himself to tell them.
I will, he thought. If there’s no other way to keep Max out of that quarantine, then I’ll tell them.
“It might be safer at headquarters,” Adrian admitted, “but it’s not better. He’s a ten-year-old kid. He deserves to have a life.”
Simon sighed, while Hugh started to rub his temple. “I’m sorry this is so upsetting to you, but I don’t know what else you expect us to do. And honestly, Adrian, we’ve already made our decision.”
“He’s my brother! I deserve to be a part of this conversation. Hell, he deserves to be a part of this conversation.”
“You’re both too young to understand everything at stake here,” said Hugh.
“But we’re not too young to risk our lives fighting crime every day? Max wasn’t too young to be taken into battle against Ace Anarchy when he was a year old? You’ve been controlling him for his entire life, and this is … You can’t do this to him again.”
“We love him, too, you know,” said Simon, looking weary. “We’re trying to do what’s best for him. Do you have any idea how many people want to hurt him? Or use him? This is for his own good.”
“Besides, he’s still the same Max,” added Hugh. “He might seem weak and fragile these days, but he’s still … dangerous.”
Adrian jaw clenched, but he nodded, pretending that he understood.
Slumping into the sofa again, Simon turned to Hugh. “Tell me everything the doctor said. Word for word.”
“I’m going for a walk,” said Adrian, before Hugh could launch into any medical speak. “I’ll see you at home later.”
They didn’t try to stop him. Adrian pushed his way back out through the swinging doors and left the hospital through a side entrance, as the main sliding glass doors to the ER were still boarded up since the Sentinel had burst through them when he brought in Max.
Within minutes Adrian was springing up to the adjacent rooftop, hurtling over the alleyway toward the fifth floor, and after checking that no one else was inside, sliding open the window to Max’s room.
Max was seated up in the adjustable bed, propped against white pillows. When he spotted Adrian climbing in through the window, he yelped and sent a plastic food tray clattering to the floor. “Adrian! What on—”
Adrian shushed him and ducked against the side of the bed, just in case someone in the hallway had heard Max’s commotion. He waited three whole breaths before picking up the food tray and piling the fallen dishes of macaroni and cheese, apple slices, and a chocolate brownie back on top of it.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. But people still don’t know about the tattoos so I sort of have to sneak in.”
Max inspected the mac and cheese, noting bits of lint from the floor stuck to the yellowish noodles. His nose curled in disgust. He reached for the brownie instead, picked off a mysterious bit of white fuzz, and crammed half of it into his mouth.
It was a testament to his recovery that he could be more interested in eating than giving Adrian the hug he was sure he deserved.
“I’m so happy you’re awake,” said Adrian, sitting in the chair beside Max’s bed. “I thought…” He hesitated and changed his statement to: “You really had us scared.”
Max used a white cloth napkin that came with the meal to wipe chocolate from the side of his mouth, though there was still some stuck in his front teeth when he grinned at Adrian. “Yeah, the doctor said it was pretty bad there for a while. They say I’m lucky.”
“You are. We all are.”
Max’s expression turned sly. “Naw. The Sentinel rescued me, right? So I guess I have him to thank. You know, if I ever meet the guy in person.”
Adrian chuckled. There had been weeks when Max was the only person who knew his secret identity. Since the fight at the catacombs, he’d been forced to tell Ruby and Oscar, too, and he suspected Danna knew as well—though he wouldn’t know her feelings on it until they could figure out how to help her transform back into her human shape.
He knew he would have to tell Nova eventually. Oscar and Ruby weren’t the most discreet Renegades on the task force, and he wanted to make sure she heard it from him.
“Yeah, well, rumor has it the Sentinel might be a little fond of you, kid.” He reached forward and ruffled Max’s hair. Having only known what it was like to do that in recent weeks, he was still surprised at how fluffy his hair was. “The team’s going to be elated when I tell them the news, and I might have a surprise next time I come to visit.”