Suri’s nasally wheezes filled the silence in the separate single room. A wadded clump of tissues lay beside the foot of the bed and the vaporizer’s steam created an ever-present fog. Although her hair was pulled up into a messy bun, strays had matted themselves against her sweaty forehead. In five days, her fever had gone from ninety-eight to one hundred and three.

A light tap on the door startled Nole from the bedside where he was intently watching his sister sleep. Olivia came in balancing a bedpan with soup, water, and medicine in one hand.

“Hey,” she whispered. “Any changes?” 

Nole took the bedpan and set it on the table. “No.” Suri mumbled something inscrutable and her bed sheets rose and fell slowly with each labored breath. “I’m worried,” Nole said. “I’m really worried.”

Despite her aloof exterior, Olivia greeted him with sympathetic eyes. “Valerie said her temperature should be stabilizing soon. In any case, we have more supplies than a hospital. Just give it time, Nole.”

“She should be here,” Nole murmured angrily. Tapping his foot against the carpeted floor, he withheld his urge to start ranting. “Betty.”

Olivia lowered her gaze and let Nole fume. No one had heard from Betty in the five days since she left, even Valerie. Whatever her excursion was, it wasn’t shaping up to be a short one. The thought that she wouldn’t come back crossed Nole’s mind, and he was sure it crossed everyone else’s minds too, they were just too afraid to share the idea aloud. It was as if saying it would make it true. The other option was that something had happened to Betty. Nole couldn’t help but wonder about her ability to handle herself, or lack thereof. He’d never seen her do anything but smoke cigarettes and boss them around.

I want her here to treat Suri, he thought bitterly. But, even if Suri wasn’t sick…

“I miss her too,” Olivia replied as if reading his thoughts. She placed a hand on Nole’s shoulder before making her way to the door. “You shouldn’t stay in here too long, or you’ll catch what she’s got,” she added before leaving the room. “Val’s words, not mine.” With that, she slid the door shut, leaving Nole alone with his sister.

***

“How’s she doing?" Taro asked. He lowered the volume of the television to a low buzz when Olivia entered the lobby. She slumped into the suede cushion beside him. His cheeks were red from his morning outing. “Same. What about your end?” Taro shook his head, the wavy blonde hairs shaking in unison. The two remained silent for a few minutes before he spoke up.

“Do you think he’s coming back, Liv?” When she didn’t respond, he went on. “I went back to the Hexes hideout from a few days ago, I looked around the backstreets, heck I even went to that breakfast cart. Graham was having a three-for-two sale on the sausage and biscuit sandwiches I like-”

“Taro,” Olivia groaned, urging him to focus.

“Sorry. I just, I never thought he’d just leave. I mean, I was so sure…”

“Don’t start getting all gloomy,” Olivia cut in. “Val doesn’t need to see us worrying about him too. That’ll just make her more upset.”

Stretching his arms behind his head, Taro let out a massive yawn. “Yeah,” he sighed. “You’re right. Man, I don’t know how you can stay calm during all of this.” There was an uncomfortable pause before he added: “I guess you were pretty calm about my disappearance a while back, huh?” Even though he turned his eyes back to the television, Olivia could tell he was waiting for her response. His blue eyes were between her and the screen, so she knew he was waiting for a reaction.

She gave him a small smile. “No, not really.” From his profile, Taro’s expression didn’t seem to change, but his rising cheek let her know that he was half-grinning. The hum of the television lingered in the air and the room was still for a few minutes. The midday sun glowed through the auburn curtains of the lobby, making the snow outside blindingly white. The quiet between Taro and Olivia remained until a voice startled them.

“It’s like a ghost town in here.”

Whipping their heads around, the two were shocked to see the Chief of Enforcers. “Tom? Jeez, you nearly gave us a heart attack!” Olivia scolded.

“And whiplash,” Taro added, rolling his shoulders up to his ears.

Tom chuckled. “Sorry about that. Sneaking around is a habit I can’t seem to shake.” He removed his hat, but kept his coat and gloves on. “Where’s Betty?”

Both Taro and Olivia looked at each other, surprised that they former leader had left without informing Tom.

“She went on a vacation,” Taro answered. The suspicious reply earned Taro a skeptical look from Tom, but Olivia nodded to corroborate the story. “We don’t know where she went.”

Crossing his arms, Tom considered the words. “That would explain why Zane’s been bumming it at the station.”

Olivia pounced when she heard the name. “Zane’s at the station? We’ve been wondering where he’s been these last few days. Valerie will be relieved to hear that.”

“Well, it’s been a few days since he’s been there. Three now that I think about it. But that aside, do you know when Betty will be back. I need to discuss something with her, and it’s fairly urgent.” For the first time, Tom seemed concerned, but all Olivia and Taro cared about was Zane’s whereabouts. Not only had they learned that Zane had been frequenting Central Station, but also that he’d been missing for three days.

“We don’t know, Tom,” Olivia reaffirmed. “You said Zane hasn’t been there in days?” She and Taro exchanged glances. Just as Olivia was about to question Zane’s reason for going to the station, Valerie sprinted into the room with Nole in tow. Out of breath, she didn’t even acknowledge Tom when addressing them.

“Where have you been?” she demanded. “Forget it, the TV! Turn it up!”

Puzzled, Olivia and Taro returned their attention to the television, which was airing an emergency broadcast – or what looked like one.  As soon as Taro turned the volume back up, a deep mechanistic voice could be heard from a silhouetted figure. The Runners were extremely distracted by the figure’s getup – a black hoodie mixed with a black mask, adorned with a giant red face consisting of two triangle eyes and a smile in the shape of a boomerang. The masked person sat in a sleek leather chair with legs crossed and one hand lazily holding his face up. As the camera zoomed out, others with the same outfit and mask could be seen standing behind him.

Nole and Valerie stepped closer to the screen, but Tom stepped aside and started mumbling something into a portable radio. As much as Nole wanted to hear what Tom was saying, he focused on the television and the low, identity-protecting voice that came through it.

“We do not seek to scare the civilians. Our masks serve to protect us from our enemies only,” the voice droned.

“What’s he talking about?” Taro whispered, but Olivia promptly shushed him.

“The threat of the gangs in Nova City is not gone. It will never be gone. This false sense of security will lead to more violence, more deaths. I have seen it, and I do not want you to see it as well. Because of the combined actions of the Enforcers and merciless renegades, gangs have started to rally underground.

“Six months ago, corruption in the Enforcers Unit was revealed. The former Chief of Enforcers was behind the water crisis. To make matters worse, his replacement is a gang member himself.”

Nole glanced at Tom, who was now listening carefully. The radio was still poised beside his face, but his eyes were fixed on the television.

“It is for that reason that I, rather we, have risen. We will do what no one else could. We will keep all innocent citizens safe, and in order to do so, we will eliminate all corruption, all danger, all who burden Nova. That is why we are going to track down and pass judgment on every gangster, every Enforcer, every ne’er do well. We have created a list of these individuals, and we urge the rest of you to avoid them or else you will be judged as an accomplice. To better our cause, we have listed monetary rewards for those who wish to assist us in bringing these individuals to justice. We are the Polys, and we will bring safety and justice to Nova.”

The image disappeared and static enveloped the screen. No one spoke, and only the gurgling of the screen filled the silence until a voice came in over Tom’s radio.

“Chief, this lines up with the note from earlier today. Seems like these guys are the real deal.”

Tom turned around, trying to keep his conversation private, but his muffled voice was still audible to the Runners. “Did you trace the connection?”

“No sir, whoever they are, they managed to get in and out of the broadcast system without a digital footprint. These guys are no joke, Chief.”

There was a brief pause before Tom clicked the radio off and turned to the Runners. They all stared at him expectantly, waiting for him to explain what had just happened.

“What’s going on?” Taro demanded. “And why are they calling themselves The Police?” There was an edge of panic in his voice.

“Polys,” Tom corrected. “They call themselves the Polys. We believe it’s a play on words to break away from the gang categorization and establish themselves as an authority. And like the guy so eloquently mentioned, we received a list with… prices… beside each person’s name,” Tom explained slowly. It was obvious that he was choosing the words carefully, but they could all read between the lines.

“Bounties,” Olivia clarified. “You mean there are bounties.”

The Chief nodded. “Yes, and every person is wanted alive.”

“Tom,” Valerie jumped in. “What are you doing here?” It was a question none of them had bothered to ask in light of the recent announcement. The Chief rubbed the back of his neck with the black-gloved right hand, and Nole imagined the red Para tattoo he knew lay underneath.

“I wanted to talk to Betty.” He lifted one side of his coat and revealed a folded piece of paper.

“What, is she on the list?” Nole asked half-jokingly. This wasn’t the question he wanted to ask. He was too nervous to ask what he really wanted to know, what he was too afraid to know. The others knew it too, and Tom’s next words confirmed their suspicions.

“Yes.” He unfolded the paper and handed it to Nole. “And so are all of you.”

Grabbing the paper, Nole’s fingers pressed down on the edges, creasing it instantly. As the others huddled around him, he couldn’t help but feel a wave of nerves rise within him. The first thing he read was the initial note:

WANTED: The Polys will reward anyone for the capture of the following individuals ALIVE. We will serve as their judge, jury, and prosecutors, so reward will NOT be distributed if they are dead upon arrival.

The statement alone was enough to send a shudder through Nole. While he was sure the others were skimming the list methodically, he was slowly making his way down the list, name by name, letter by letter. As suspenseful as it would be to find a familiar name, to find his name, he wanted to prolong the sense of freedom he’d been basking in for the last few months.

“Marco and Tyrone,” Olivia murmured, reading ahead of Nole. As soon as she mentioned them, Nole scanned the list, and sure enough, they were there. “Seven thousand each.”

“Not those guys,” Taro said, the disappointment evident in his tone. “They haven’t even done anything.” For a second, Nole remembered the back injury Tyrone had given him months earlier, but he shook the memory from his thoughts.

“Most of these people haven’t done anything,” Valerie added.

As Nole read down the length of names, he noticed the bounties increasing in size.

“Lucky for us, only Enforcers of Captain level or higher are listed.” Tom may have phrased the comment as if it were a good thing, but when Nole glanced up at the Chief, he was looking at the floor with his arms crossed. He wasn’t happy.

Right as Nole noticed Captains Maddox and Hadley on the extensive list, Olivia shouted. “Taro, you’re worth thirty-one thousand!”

“It gets worse,” Tom sighed, and Olivia cut in again.

“I’m worth thirty-three thousand.”

“What the heck?” Taro didn’t bother hiding his bitterness.

As they announced the numbers, Nole continued to work down the list. Unknown names littered the page. Whether they were Enforcers he’d never met or gangsters he’d never come across, he didn’t care. It wasn’t until Valerie gasped Nole’s name that he started to worry, and when Taro and Olivia backed away from him, his hands felt clammy. By the time he reached the last quarter of the list, he couldn’t help but wonder if he’d accidentally skipped his name in the middle. The last dozen or so were worth seventy thousand at least, and he was sure he wouldn’t be among them.

The faster he read, the worse he felt. It was like counting down to a lethal injection, and each name was a second closer to the procedure. Focusing on the familiar names, he only made a note of everyone he knew.

Tyrone Mondo $7,000.

Marco Robles  $7,000.

Capt. Quinn Hadley $17,000

Capt. Jett Maddox $25,000

Taro Lacroix $31,000.

Olivia Volt $33,000

Betty Avarty, $68,000.

Zane Erebus $85,000.

Asteria P. $93,000.

There were a couple of other names in between Asteria and the last two names on the list.

Chief Tom Hendricks $110,000.

A tiny part of Nole felt as though the Polys had overlooked him, and an immeasurable amount of relief began to fill him until he saw the very last name, the most profitable name.

Nole Vale $250,000.