The Pyramid Chronicles: Fortuna Guard (#2)

Chapter Eleven: Light Park

It was quickly becoming apparent that the hardest part about flying around in a jetchopper was figuring out where to land. Eric had never expected to learn so much information about the laws around parking helicopters.

Avoiding attention didn't matter to Scorpion, obviously. No need to worry about people noticing that you just landed a chopper in the middle of a parking lot when you were already planning on robbing the building and using superpowers on anyone who got in your way. Since Eric and the others wanted to avoid that kind of attention, they were going to have to park in the middle of nowhere—relatively speaking—and walk. That crossed the heart of L.A. off their list as an option for a day trip.

They settled for taking a picture in front of the sign for a small park near Angeles National Forest. Eric took the photo, and Summer threw up a peace sign on his right while Sam smiled awkwardly on his left.

Eric checked the photo. The sign was clearly legible, but it was just at the edge of the picture. It would be easy to believe he hadn't noticed it. "I'll block Veronica and Adam from seeing this," he said as he went to post the photo. "I mean, they'll know what we're doing eventually, but if they haven't figured it out yet, I'm definitely not going to help them."

"Plus, if they didn't figure out we're after Scorpion, they might just think you're a dumbass for posting it," Summer pointed out.

"Sure."

The three turned around to study the park sign.

"Light Park," Summer read aloud. She rested a hand on her hip. "Did you guys know this place is named after a member of the Defenders Alliance? Commander Light?"

Eric closed his phone and slid it into his pocket. "Is that why you picked it?"

"Kinda. I guess it'd be funny to lure Scorpion into a place named after a superhero." Summer turned her head to survey the trees nearby.

"When did Commander Light die?" Eric asked. He'd heard the name, but he was pretty sure the guy's last battle had been in the nineties.

"Ninety-eight," Summer said. "In the battle where he killed Gunmetal." She shook her head. "I can't believe it's been twenty years already."

"You weren't even alive when he died!"

Sam frowned. "Weren't both of them in the Defenders Alliance?"

"Yeah, Gunmetal turned on the Commander, though." Summer shrugged. "No one knows why."

"That was the last really big thing to happen here on the west coast, wasn't it?" Sam asked, still staring at the sign. "I mean, there's been smaller attacks on cities, and Scorpion, obviously. But it seems like most of the crazy stuff is over in New York or New Atlas these days."

"Yeah, and even the east coast isn't doing too bad," Summer replied. "I guess there's enough heroes these days that it's hard for villains to make a dent, unless they're super powerful."

Eric's hands moved to his hoodie pockets. "Let's go find somewhere to sit down," he suggested. "It might look weird if we're just hanging around the sign we took a picture at."

The three found a giant boulder to hang out at. Summer scrambled up to the top to survey the park around them. Sam found a relatively flat stretch of stone to sit on. Eric elected to sit cross-legged in the grass at the boulder's base.

"Wow," Summer said. "We're really gonna be screwed if this doesn't work, aren't we?"

Sam glanced up at her. "It's going to work."

Summer snorted, but there was a distance in her gaze. "Sam, you're supposed to be the voice of reason."

Eric frowned. He'd never seen Summer anxious before.